Janine Pontejos

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Ricalde and the surname or paternal family name is Pontejos.

Janine Ricalde Pontejos (born October 29, 1992^[1]) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and current basketball coach. She has represented the Philippine national team in international competitions.

Janine Pontejos

No. 7 – San Juan Lady Knights
League	WMPBL
Personal information
Born	(1992-10-29) October 29, 1992 (age 32)
Nationality	Filipino
Listed height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Career information
College	De La Salle Lipa Centro Escolar University
Career history
As a player:
2019	Taguig Lady Generals
2022	Philippine Army Lady Battalions
2025–	San Juan Lady Knights
As a coach:
2024	CEU Lady Scorpions
Medals Representing  Philippines Women's basketball Southeast Asian Games 2019 Philippines Team 2021 Hanoi Team Women's 3x3 basketball FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2018 Bocaue Individual shoot-out Southeast Asian Games 2019 Philippines Team 2023 Phnom Penh Team

Playing career

College

Janine Pontejos is noted as a homegrown player who have never played in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball championship.^[2] She first took up basketball growing up with her siblings in Lemery, Batangas. Her first competitive experience in the sport was as a varsity player of De La Salle Lipa. She part of both the school's athletics and basketball team. She later transferred to the Centro Escolar University and became part of the CEU Lady Scorpions. With the Lady Scorpions, she was named MVP for four times in the Women's National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) and her team dominated the National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (NAASCU).^[3]

Club

Pontejos has played in the Women's National Basketball League in the Philippines. In its first season in 2019, Pontejos led the Taguig Lady Generals to a second place finish and she was named as season MVP.^[4][5] In the 2022 season, she helped the Philippine Army Lady Battalions clinch the WNBL title.^[6]

Janine Pontejos joined the San Juan Lady Knights of the Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League for the inaugural 2025 regular season^[7][8]

National team

Pontejos has played for the Philippine national team. She was a part of the Philippines national 3x3 side which took part in the 2018 FIBA 3x3 World Cup which was hosted in Bocaue, Bulacan. As an individual, she won the gold medal in that tournament's shoot-out competition.^[9][10]

She has suited up for the team in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games where she won two gold medals; as part of the traditional 5-a-side team and the 3x3 national team.^[11] She also played for the country at the 2019 William Jones Cup.^[12]

Coaching career

As of 2021, Pontejos is part of the CEU Lady Scorpions staff as an assistant coach.^[13] In 2024, she became the head coach of the Scorpions leading them to a Women's National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) title. The Scorpions joined the inaugural tournament of the Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League in 2025.^[2][14]

Personal life

Pontejos joined the Philippine Army in 2020.^[15] She holds the rank of Private First Class as of 2022.^[16] She has a degree in business administration from CEU.^[17]