IT was a trip down memory lane, as Converge deputy Danny Ildefonso crossed paths on the court with former nemesis Chris Jackson last week during the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup.
Ildefonso, the two-time league MVP, was helping the FiberXers from the bench, while Jackson sat at the Commissioner’s row of the Mall of Asia Arena watching one of the 50 Greatest Players doing his thing.
The 49-year-old Ildefonso went on record that he considered the man they called ‘Stonewall Jackson’ and ‘Action Jackson’ to be among the best defenders in PBA history.
“Siya yung nasa Top 10 list ko na best defenders,” said the Converge big man coach. “Solid defender.”
Jackson and his family were in town last week for a brief visit here.
READ: Three-time PBA DPOY Chris Jackson reconnects with pro hoop roots
Ildefonso and Jackson were contemporaries during the late '90s and early '00s, with the Fil-Am forward emerging as the No. 4 selection in the 1995 draft and ‘Lakay’ Ildefonso becoming the top overall pick of the draft three years later.
The two met in the finals once during the 1999 Commissioner’s Cup, which Ildefonso and San Miguel won in six games.
It was 'Danny I's' first championship, and he could only acknowledge it was hard going up against a stocky, 6-foot-4 lockdown defender in the mold of Jackson.
“I always had a hard time scoring against Chris Jackson,” admitted the 49-year-old Ildefonso, recalling his fierce battle with the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
“Lagi kaming magkalaban. Pinahirapan niya ako,” he added, while also calling Jackson a ‘perfect role player.”
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