From surviving to striving, Jhonard Clarito’s success story in the Philippine Basketball Association is worth telling.
The player who was once put on the reserve list and had to fight for a roster spot, has just worked his way up from being one of the league’s unheralded competitors to becoming a key contributor on his way to winning the Most Improved Player plum in the recent annual Leo Awards.
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao considers Clarito as the team’s latest goldmine.
“Yes, you can say that he’s indeed a goldmine,” Guiao told Pinoystep.com. “We molded him, we developed him to becoming to what he is today and he’s now one of the key players off this team. In our team, we didn’t get players coming off trades and are already ready-made, but we would rather develop them through our process.”
Clarito’s feat, according to Guiao, was one of those inspiring success stories as he was a virtual underdog competing against the more established stars in the league for this prestigious individual plum.
The 6-foot-2, hardworking forward had to compete with the likes of more illustrious players like Calvin Oftana of TNT, Joshua Munzon of NorthPort, Justin Arana and Alec Stockton of Converge, Isaac Go and Javi Gomez de Liano of Terrafirma and fellow Rain or Shine player Andrei Caracut.
“If titingnan mo talaga yung pinanggalingan niya for the Most Improved Player award, you could tell na ang layo ng pinanggalingan niya to be able to reach it,” added Guiao. “Siyempre, when you’re choosing for a Most Improved Player winner, it normally comes from a winning team. Mas may bias pa rin talaga if galing sa mas kilalang team. Kami, we could only reach as far as the semifinal round, and yet Jhonard’s effortd were noticed, but I believe Jhonard truly deserves the award.”
A player with humble beginnings, Clarito came out of nowhere.
Only a few were able to notice him as he didn’t come from a prominent school. He played in a second-tier league that is the NCRAA where he became a member of the Mythical Five while seeing action for the De Ocampo Memorial College Cobras in 2017.
“Sino ba si Jhonard Clarito? Halos hindi nga halos kilala yan,” added Guiao. “Pero nagsikap talaga siya, nagtiyaga. He was a survivor. He needed to compete and prove himself and he did that the old fashion way by working hard in practice until he gets into the regular rotation.”
Before ending up with Rain or Shine, Clarito became a part of the champion team of San Juan Knights in the MPBL where he served as the hero in the championship series against Davao Occidental a few years ago, but while his role was instrumental in that title run, there were doubts whether this player, an undersized forward could thrive in the PBA as he had to compete with players who are bigger, more talented than him.
He started as a role player, barely cracking the regular roster of the Elasto Painters.
“Dinatnan ko na lang yan, pero pinagtyagaan nating i-develop and nagbunga naman yung pagtyatyaga niya,” said Guiao. “Nasa player rin kasi talaga yan, kung hanggang saan nila kayang itulak yung full potential nila.”
But like the typical Guiao, who knows on turning marginal players to stars, Clarito became one of the integral members of Rain or Shine’s playoff runs.
Now Clarito, an individual awardee, is trying to push himself further to reach the extra mile.
