OKLAHOMA City Thunder wunderkind Russell Westbrook has averaged a triple-double for the past three seasons in the U.S. National Basketball Association.
A 6-foot-3 backcourter, Westbrook is only the second player in NBA annals to register a triple-double for an entire campaign, duplicating the feat of “The Big O” Oscar Robertson, a 6-foot-5 playmaker who turned in the trick with the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) during the 1961-62 season as a sophomore pro with double-figure production in scoring (30.8 ppg), rebounding (12.5 rpg) and assists (league-best 11.4 apg) in 79 games.
In the local pro scene, there has never been an instance wherein a homegrown player completed a single season with a triple-double average.
Since the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) first saw the light of day in April 1975, only once has player flirted with a T-D season average.
In 1984, Ramon Fernandez averaged 27.8 points (fifth in the league), 9.9 assists (league best), 11.2 rebounds (fourth), 1.53 steals (third) and 2.09 blocked shots in playing 64 games (out of 66) with Beer Hausen, which finished the season with a 35-31 record. A 6-foot-4.5 frontliner, the gangling and graceful native of Maasin, Leyte, who normed 40.8 minutes every time out, registered shooting percentages of .525 (704-for-1340) from the field and went .808 (371-for-459) from the free-throw line.
It was the greatest single-season performance by a homegrown PBA player ever.
With a total of 635 assists, Fernandez just fell five dimes short of an unprecedented triple-double season average.
Still, it was only the second time that a homegrown center had topped Asia’s first professional league in assists.
The first to do it? Who else but “El Presidente” himself.
In 1982, while with the famed Toyota Tamaraws, Fernandez dished out 346 assists in 67 appearances for a 5.2 clip.
During his scintillating 1984 campaign, Fernandez also racked up 25 triple-double games – which until now remains the PBA’s all-time season record in that category, local or otherwise.
Expectedly, Fernandez ran away with the second of his four Most Valuable Player awards – a share of second place with Alvin Patrimonio for most number of MVP hardware behind June Mar Fajardo, who has racked up five consecutive MVP awards with San Miguel Beer from 2014-18 and is likely to add more to his collection down the road.
Regardless, Fernandez is the lone four-time MVP to romp away with the award with four different franchises (Toyota, Beer Hausen, Tanduay and San Miguel Beer/Purefoods).
Fernandez suited up in 20 PBA seasons (1975-94) and won 19 conference championships, the most in league history.
Fernandez, who turns 66 in October, has been a commissioner with the Philippine Sports Commission since July 2016 under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
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