(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)
TOO often, his confidence has been mistaken for arrogance.
All the loose talk on his cocky on-court nature, however, hasn’t ruffled Paul Rico Maierhofer a bit.
“Either you love him or you hate him,” Maierhofer says, quite candidly, of himself. “I’ve been told that there’s no in-between when it comes to people’s impressions of me.”
As the current top rookie in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), however, Maierhofer proved once again that he has all the goods to back up the perceived conceit.
“Inaamin ko nagiging mayabang ako sa court [I admit I can get cocky on court],” Maierhofer says. “I think nadadala lang ng competitiveness ko sa sports yung emotions ko. Yun ang yabang na nakikita nila sa akin [I get carried away by my emotions because of my competitiveness in sports. That’s the arrogance people perceive].”
For four seasons, Maierhofer made his mark as a sensational and colorful stalwart of the La Salle Green Archers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
Although his college-days notoriety was compounded by a controversial dirty finger flashing incident during La Salle’s epic 2008 UAAP championship showdown against rival Ateneo, there’s no arguing that Maierhofer has emerged as a much sought-after amateur cager with his impressive athleticism, nimble post plays and defensive prowess.
And it was his multitudinous skills, rather than his polarizing nature, that the Purefoods TJ Giants saw come draft day for the 2009 PBA season.
“Rico is an extremely athletic player who can jump out of the gym,” Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio said after the Giants picked Maierhofer second overall in the PBA Rookie Draft last August. “He can play multiple positions. He has the height of the big man and the quickness of a guard. He will obviously complement our shooters because he has an uncanny ability to play off the ball and score on putbacks.”
True enough, Maierhofer showed these past months that his lanky 6-foot-6 frame can hold up against the burly veterans in the professional league.
“Mahirap sa PBA, bugbugan [It’s hard in the PBA, it can get rough],” Maierhofer says. “I’m only 180 pounds and I’m playing against opponents who are at least 200 to 220 pounds. Bugbog talaga, pero yun ang sacrifice ko. Dinadaan ko na lang sa speed and determination [The games are very physical, but that’s something I have to take. I just make up for it with speed and determination].”
Not that Maierhofer isn’t used to rough play.
Growing up at the Sabang beach of Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro, Maierhofer clearly spent more time on land – in makeshift basketball courts, in particular – than in the water.
“We played every day, kahit maliit na ring at lupa [even with improvised basketball rings and on unpaved courts],” says Maierhofer. “After school, diretso doon, naka-uniform pa na puti, pag-uwi ng bahay sobrang putik na ng uniform [We would go straight to the courts and play even while still in our white uniforms, and we’d get really dirtied up by the time we got home].”
“We just bet on one Coke. We’d play rough basketball just for a 1.5 liter softdrink,” laughs Maierhofer, who also used to play for the volleyball varsity team of Puerto Galera Academy.
“It was a good childhood experience. I think the physical games helped me. I continue to fight even if I get hurt, I think I adapted that from my childhood.”
Maierhofer loves his comfortable and laidback life in Puerto Galera as the eldest of seven children of his Austrian father Rudolf Paul and Filipino mother Ellenita.
“My father has been in the Philippines for about 30 years,” says Maierhofer. “He’s a businessman who came here looking for a place to set up a resort. My mom is from Baybay, Leyte. She was studying in Manila when she met my father. They set up a resort, the Tropicana Castle, and decided to live in Puerto Galera.”
Maierhofer had no plans of leaving Puerto Galera until a Manila-based cousin convinced him to try out for the La Salle basketball team after another UAAP school recruited him.
“I had no idea about the colleges in Manila,” says Maierhofer. “I was a walk-in in La Salle.”
Maierhofer says he didn’t even know then La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, who has steered the Green Archers to numerous collegiate championships.
“I was with my mom when I went to the tryouts. I first approached the ball boy because I thought he was the coach,” Maierhofer recalls, laughing. “I came in wearing surfing shorts and a sleeveless top. I was wearing a beach attire with rubber shoes.”
But Maierhofer’s height and skills stood out. He was invited to the team’s training for the next five days, before he even took La Salle’s entrance exams.
“I really studied and reviewed for it because I wanted to pass,” says Maierhofer. “I came in for the exam and saw everyone in long sleeves and pants. I came in wearing my tryout clothes. I didn’t have long pants even in high school. Kasi ganoon talaga porma namin sa Puerto, pati pang-simba namin ganoon din [That’s how we dress up in Puerto, even for church]. I was really a beach boy who had no idea [about city life].”
The adjustment came quick as he transformed from a promising rookie to La Salle’s star player. Maierhofer, too, learned to cope with basketball’s highs (powering the Green Archers to the 2007 UAAP championship) and lows (getting ejected for allegedly flashing a dirty finger against an opposing player during the 2008 UAAP Finals).
“For the record, it’s not true,” Maierhofer says of the controversial incident in his collegiate stint. “We knew Ateneo’s plays and we had a defensive strategy. I was only signaling to my teammate with my index finger that we have to switch. So I was surprised when I was called a technical. I asked the referee if he saw it and he said, ‘What I saw is legit [legitimate].’ English pa. Kaya lang yung replay kasi sa camera blurred [He even said it in English. Unfortunately, the camera replay was blurred]. ”
It’s an incident the 24-year-old Maierhofer now laughs off as he sets his focus on his budding professional career.
“I have to improve on my stamina, outside shooting, perimeter shots and dribbling skills. There are still many things I need to work on,” says Maierhofer. “From the start, [the Purefoods team officials] told me that they chose me because they know I can help them. Of course I feel the pressure, but at the same time, I make sure that every time I’m inside the court I’ll do something good for the team. I’m proud that they picked me, so I also want to give them what they expect of me, which is to play hard and to help the team.”
It’s a job Maierhofer doesn’t exactly need, but still clearly wants, passionately.
TOO often, his confidence has been mistaken for arrogance.
All the loose talk on his cocky on-court nature, however, hasn’t ruffled Paul Rico Maierhofer a bit.
“Either you love him or you hate him,” Maierhofer says, quite candidly, of himself. “I’ve been told that there’s no in-between when it comes to people’s impressions of me.”
As the current top rookie in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), however, Maierhofer proved once again that he has all the goods to back up the perceived conceit.
“Inaamin ko nagiging mayabang ako sa court [I admit I can get cocky on court],” Maierhofer says. “I think nadadala lang ng competitiveness ko sa sports yung emotions ko. Yun ang yabang na nakikita nila sa akin [I get carried away by my emotions because of my competitiveness in sports. That’s the arrogance people perceive].”
For four seasons, Maierhofer made his mark as a sensational and colorful stalwart of the La Salle Green Archers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
Although his college-days notoriety was compounded by a controversial dirty finger flashing incident during La Salle’s epic 2008 UAAP championship showdown against rival Ateneo, there’s no arguing that Maierhofer has emerged as a much sought-after amateur cager with his impressive athleticism, nimble post plays and defensive prowess.
And it was his multitudinous skills, rather than his polarizing nature, that the Purefoods TJ Giants saw come draft day for the 2009 PBA season.
“Rico is an extremely athletic player who can jump out of the gym,” Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio said after the Giants picked Maierhofer second overall in the PBA Rookie Draft last August. “He can play multiple positions. He has the height of the big man and the quickness of a guard. He will obviously complement our shooters because he has an uncanny ability to play off the ball and score on putbacks.”
True enough, Maierhofer showed these past months that his lanky 6-foot-6 frame can hold up against the burly veterans in the professional league.
“Mahirap sa PBA, bugbugan [It’s hard in the PBA, it can get rough],” Maierhofer says. “I’m only 180 pounds and I’m playing against opponents who are at least 200 to 220 pounds. Bugbog talaga, pero yun ang sacrifice ko. Dinadaan ko na lang sa speed and determination [The games are very physical, but that’s something I have to take. I just make up for it with speed and determination].”
Not that Maierhofer isn’t used to rough play.
Growing up at the Sabang beach of Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro, Maierhofer clearly spent more time on land – in makeshift basketball courts, in particular – than in the water.
“We played every day, kahit maliit na ring at lupa [even with improvised basketball rings and on unpaved courts],” says Maierhofer. “After school, diretso doon, naka-uniform pa na puti, pag-uwi ng bahay sobrang putik na ng uniform [We would go straight to the courts and play even while still in our white uniforms, and we’d get really dirtied up by the time we got home].”
“We just bet on one Coke. We’d play rough basketball just for a 1.5 liter softdrink,” laughs Maierhofer, who also used to play for the volleyball varsity team of Puerto Galera Academy.
“It was a good childhood experience. I think the physical games helped me. I continue to fight even if I get hurt, I think I adapted that from my childhood.”
Maierhofer loves his comfortable and laidback life in Puerto Galera as the eldest of seven children of his Austrian father Rudolf Paul and Filipino mother Ellenita.
“My father has been in the Philippines for about 30 years,” says Maierhofer. “He’s a businessman who came here looking for a place to set up a resort. My mom is from Baybay, Leyte. She was studying in Manila when she met my father. They set up a resort, the Tropicana Castle, and decided to live in Puerto Galera.”
Maierhofer had no plans of leaving Puerto Galera until a Manila-based cousin convinced him to try out for the La Salle basketball team after another UAAP school recruited him.
“I had no idea about the colleges in Manila,” says Maierhofer. “I was a walk-in in La Salle.”
Maierhofer says he didn’t even know then La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, who has steered the Green Archers to numerous collegiate championships.
“I was with my mom when I went to the tryouts. I first approached the ball boy because I thought he was the coach,” Maierhofer recalls, laughing. “I came in wearing surfing shorts and a sleeveless top. I was wearing a beach attire with rubber shoes.”
But Maierhofer’s height and skills stood out. He was invited to the team’s training for the next five days, before he even took La Salle’s entrance exams.
“I really studied and reviewed for it because I wanted to pass,” says Maierhofer. “I came in for the exam and saw everyone in long sleeves and pants. I came in wearing my tryout clothes. I didn’t have long pants even in high school. Kasi ganoon talaga porma namin sa Puerto, pati pang-simba namin ganoon din [That’s how we dress up in Puerto, even for church]. I was really a beach boy who had no idea [about city life].”
The adjustment came quick as he transformed from a promising rookie to La Salle’s star player. Maierhofer, too, learned to cope with basketball’s highs (powering the Green Archers to the 2007 UAAP championship) and lows (getting ejected for allegedly flashing a dirty finger against an opposing player during the 2008 UAAP Finals).
“For the record, it’s not true,” Maierhofer says of the controversial incident in his collegiate stint. “We knew Ateneo’s plays and we had a defensive strategy. I was only signaling to my teammate with my index finger that we have to switch. So I was surprised when I was called a technical. I asked the referee if he saw it and he said, ‘What I saw is legit [legitimate].’ English pa. Kaya lang yung replay kasi sa camera blurred [He even said it in English. Unfortunately, the camera replay was blurred]. ”
It’s an incident the 24-year-old Maierhofer now laughs off as he sets his focus on his budding professional career.
“I have to improve on my stamina, outside shooting, perimeter shots and dribbling skills. There are still many things I need to work on,” says Maierhofer. “From the start, [the Purefoods team officials] told me that they chose me because they know I can help them. Of course I feel the pressure, but at the same time, I make sure that every time I’m inside the court I’ll do something good for the team. I’m proud that they picked me, so I also want to give them what they expect of me, which is to play hard and to help the team.”
It’s a job Maierhofer doesn’t exactly need, but still clearly wants, passionately.
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