Introduction
Ronnie Matias (born November 29, 1983) is a Filipino professional basketball player who currently plays for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Matias was drafted 9th overall in the first round of the 2009 PBA draft by the Burger King Titans.
Basketball career
Burger King Titans
Matias was drafted by the Burger King Titans on the 2009 PBA draft, being picked 9th overall at the first round. Matias played two years for Burger King.
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
Matias was traded to Rain or Shine Elasto Painters from Burger King, which was renamed to Air21, along with Ronjay Buenafe in exchange for Sol Mercado and Jay-R Reyes, together with the 2011 and 2013 first-round draft picks of Air21. The Express also acquired Reed Juntilla.
Matias won his first title with Rain or Shine after beating the B-Meg Llamados in the finals of the 2012 PBA Governors' Cup.
Air 21 Express
Matias played for the Express for four months, and after that, Matias was traded to GlobalPort Batang Pier with Carlo Sharma in exchange for Enrico Villanueva.
GlobalPort Batang Pier
Matias just stayed for a while in this team, he is traded again to the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers in exchange for Yancy de Ocampo and Val Acuña for him and Yousef Taha.
San Mig Super Coffee Mixers
On June 3, 2014, Matias was traded to San Mig Super Coffee Mixers. The trade was a part of a three-team, seven player trade. After Matias was traded to San Mig Coffee, Matias joked that he will bring a dictionary in order to understand the commands of his new coach, Tim Cone, who is an American citizen.
Barako Bull Energy
After winning his second PBA championship, Matias was traded again for Mick Pennisi with his teammate fellow bigman Isaac Holstein. He stayed for Purefoods for only 5 months before being traded to Barako.
Return to Rain or Shine
On August 26, 2015, Ronnie Matias was signed up by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters as a free agent.
PBA career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | MPG | Minutes per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage |
| 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game |
| PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high | ||
Correct as of October 18, 2016
Season-by-season averages
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Burger King / Air21 | 38 | 19.1 | .455 | .343 | .678 | 3.9 | 1.2 | .4 | .3 | 7.1 |
| 2010–11 | Air21 | 13 | 19.4 | .344 | .467 | .531 | 4.7 | 1.8 | .3 | .2 | 6.6 |
| 2011–12 | Rain or Shine | 41 | 13.7 | .432 | .391 | .780 | 3.0 | .8 | .2 | .2 | 5.0 |
| 2012–13 | Rain or Shine | 56 | 14.8 | .408 | .266 | .446 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .3 | .2 | 4.5 |
| 2013–14 | San Mig Coffee / Air21 / Rain or Shine / GlobalPort | 24 | 10.8 | .412 | .133 | .579 | 2.3 | .5 | .2 | .0 | 2.9 |
| 2014–15 | Star / Barako Bull | 9 | 6.9 | .333 | .250 | .444 | 1.8 | .2 | .1 | 0 | 1.7 |
| 2015–16 | Rain or Shine | 13 | 8.8 | .304 | .143 | .667 | 2.2 | .5 | .3 | 0 | 1.9 |
| Career | 194 | 14.5 | .415 | .295 | .610 | 3.1 | .9 | .3 | .2 | 4.8 | |
Personal life
Matias was born on November 29, 1983 in Tondo, Manila. He also spent most of his childhood there. He is married to his wife Jheda, and they have two children, both of whom are boys, named Rhon-j and Timothy. He is a devotee of Black Nazarene.
Controversy
Matias went controversial in 2013, after a commotion that happened on the Smart Araneta Coliseum during a game with Rain or Shine against the Alaska Aces. The police went to the coliseum searching for him with an arrest warrant. Matias said that the case was already five years old and the complaint was made by a certain Arlene Mendoza, accused him for allegedly stealing her wallet. Matias denied the accusations of stealing Mendoza's wallet, and Matias said he was accused because the suspect looked like him. Matias already left the coliseum before the group went. The incident did not happen just once, Matias said that it happened before during a game when he played on the Philippine Basketball League. Matias hired a lawyer after the incident to prove his innocence.