SCHOOL spirit remains strong even for PBA players.
And it's no surprise that players who came from the same alma mater made it a point to snap photos during this season's opening ceremonies.
But it begs the question: which school has the most PBA players in the current active rosters?
Well, it's not much of a surprise but Ateneo remains atop the list with 19.
That's impressive considering several Blue Eagles, among them Kiefer Ravena and Greg Slaughter, are not on the current active team rosters for different reasons.
The Katipunan side tightened its hold of the top spot thanks to the infusion of young talent, with Gian Mamuyac and Tyler Tio joining the ranks of their Ateneo kuyas in the PBA.
Far Eastern University remains at second with 16 active players led by Arwind Santos and Terrence Romeo.
Jumping to the Top 3 is La Salle with 15 buoyed by the likes of Jamie Malonzo and Santi Santillan.
Letran now has 14 players in the league to earn top honors among NCAA schools, supplanting San Beda which slipped to fifth place with 11 after previously placing in the Top 3.
In all, 19 schools are represented in the current active rosters.
Take a look at the full list:
Ateneo (19)
Japeth Aguilar
Anton Asistio
Nonoy Baclao
Aaron Black
Justin Chua
Poy Erram
Larry Fonacier
Isaac Go
Gian Mamuyac
Chris Newsome
Matt Nieto
Mike Nieto
Von Pessumal
Kris Porter
LA Tenorio
Tyler Tio
Juami Tiongson
Vince Tolentino
Adrian Wong
FEU (16)
Mark Barroca
Mac Belo
Jeff Chan
Carl Bryan Cruz
Barkley Ebona
Richard Escoto
Russel Escoto
RR Garcia
Raymar Jose
Roger Pogoy
Aldrech Ramos
Terrence Romeo
Arwind Santos
Alec Stockton
Arvin Tolentino
Mike Tolomia
La Salle (15)
Andrei Caracut
JVee Casio
Mark Dyke
Tyrus Hill
James Laput
Kurt Lojera
Jamie Malonzo
Aljun Melecio
Kib Montalbo
Jason Perkins
Santi Santillan
Encho Serrano
Jeron Teng
Joshua Torralba
Norbert Torres
Letran (14)
Kevin Alas
Raymond Almazan
Jeo Ambohot
Christian Balagasay
Jerrick Balanza
JP Calvo
RJ Jazul
Allen Mina
Larry Muyang
Rey Nambatac
Rey Publico
Bong Quinto
Kevin Racal
Ato Ular
San Beda (11)
Baser Amer
Robert Bolick
Anjo Caram
Arth dela Cruz
Rome dela Rosa
Dave Marcelo
Javee Mocon
Calvin Oftana
Jake Pascual
Kyle Pascual
Anthony Semerad
UE (10)
John Apacible
Mark Borboran
RR de Leon
Chris Javier
Paul Lee
Alvin Pasaol
Rey Suerte
Roi Sumang
Paul Varilla
Paul Zamar
NU (8)
Raymond Aguilar
Jjay Alejandro
Shaun Ildefonso
Glenn Khobuntin
Marion Magat
Jewel Ponferrada
Troy Rike
Troy Rosario
UST (8)
Jervy Cruz
Ed Daquioag
Jeepy Faundo
Kevin Ferrer
Allein Maliksi
Aljon Mariano
Renzo Subido
Louie Vigil
Adamson (7)
Jerrick Ahanmisi
Rodney Brondial
Eric Camson
Jericho Cruz
Sean Manganti
Jansen Rios
Don Trollano
Arellano (6)
Justin Arana
Michael Canete
Prince Caperal
Jio Jalalon
Nards Pinto
Kent Salado
San Sebastian (6)
Calvin Abueva
Allyn Bulanadi
JM Calma
RK Ilagan
Michael Miranda
Ian Sangalang
UP (5)
Paul Desiderio
Javi Gomez de Liano
David Murrell
Raul Soyud
Jaydee Tungcab
Lyceum (4)
MJ Ayaay
Jayson David
Joseph Gabayni
CJ Perez
PCU (4)
Mike Ayonayon
Beau Belga
Jayson Castro
Jackson Corpuz
JRU (3)
John Grospe
Philip Paniamogan
James Sena
Mapua (3)
Gab Banal
Kenneth Ighalo
Yousef Taha
University of Cebu (2)
June Mar Fajardo
Brian Heruela
Perpetual (2)
Ben Adamos
Scottie Thompson
St. Benilde (2)
Jonathan Grey
Paolo Taha
Curiously, two teams have four players coming from one alma mater in their rosters to start the season.
NorthPort has four former Growling Tigers in its lineup in Kevin Ferrer, Jervy Cruz, Renzo Subido, and Louie Vigil, while Rain or Shine has four ex-Blue Eagles in its roster in Mike Nieto, Gian Mamuyac, Anton Asistio, and Vince Tolentino.
Other teams, though, have as much as three coming from one school in their lineups.
Blackwater (JVee Casio, Joshua Torralba, Mark Dyke), Converge (Jeron Teng, Kurt Lojera, Tyrus Hill), Phoenix (Jason Perkins, Aljun Melecio, Encho Serrano), and Rain or Shine (Santi Santillan, Norbert Torres, Andrei Caracut) all have three players in their lineups coming from La Salle.
Meralco (Chris Newsome, Aaron Black, Nonoy Baclao) and NLEX (Justin Chua, Matt Nieto, Larry Fonacier) also have three players in their rosters from Ateneo.
Ginebra has three Arellano players in Prince Caperal, Nards Pinto, and Kent Salado; TNT got three NU studs in Troy Rosario, Glenn Khobuntin, and Jjay Alejandro; NorthPort signed three UE standouts in Roi Sumang, John Apacible, and Chris Javier; and Terrafirma drafted three players from Letran in JP Calvo, Allen Mina, Christian Balagasay.
Meanwhile, 10 other local schools have a solitary representative in the league when the 47th season of the league commenced.
Here are those schools:
De Ocampo Memorial College - Jhonard Clarito
EAC - Sidney Onwubere
EARIST - Andreas Cahilig
Manila - Reynel Hugnatan
Northern Iloilo State University - Billy Robles
Olivarez - Chris Lalata
PSBA - Vic Manuel
St. Clare - Aris Dionisio
TIP - TH Tumalip
Visayas - JR Quinahan
On the other hand, 31 players have studied in 28 schools overseas before finding their way in the PBA.
Most notable of all is Cal State Fullerton which produced three PBA players in Mikey Williams, Marcio Lassiter, and Ryan Reyes.
The only other foreign university to have multiple active players this season is the University of Hawaii which was the alma mater of Christian Standhardinger and Jared Dillinger.
Here's our rundown of the players who studied abroad:
Cal State Fullerton (3) - Marcio Lassiter, Ryan Reyes, Mikey Williams
Hawaii (2) - Jared Dillinger, Christian Standhardinger
British Columbia - Taylor Browne
Cal State LA - Joshua Munzon
Cal Poly Pomona - Matt Ganuelas-Rosser
Chadron State - Mo Tautuaa
Coppin State - Rafi Reavis
George Mason - Gabe Norwood
Hawaii-Hilo - Alex Cabagnot
Hope International - Kris Rosales
Marshall - Chris Ross
McGill - Sean Anthony
McKendree - Mike DiGregorio
Minnesota - Maverick Ahanmisi
Mount Olive - Justin Melton
Notre Dame de Namur - Simon Enciso
Oakland - Kelly Williams
Old Dominion - Loren Brill
Penn State - Stanley Pringle
Reedley - Cliff Hodge
San Francisco - Robbie Herndon
Seattle Pacific - Chris Banchero
St. Bonaventure - Matthew Wright
SUNY-Old Westbury - Rashawn McCarthy
UC Riverside - Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser
Warner Pacific - Franky Johnson
Whittier - Nick Demusis
William Woods - Brian Enriquez
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