Rodney Santos

John Rodney Santos (born May 30, 1973) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player who is the current coach of the Mindoro Tamaraws of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He is also known as The Slasher for his slashing ability going to the basket.

Rodney Santos

Mindoro Tamaraws
Position	Head coach
League	Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL)
Personal information
Born	(1973-05-30) May 30, 1973 (age 52) Meycauayan, Bulacan, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	San Sebastian (Manila)
College	San Sebastian
PBA draft	1996: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Selected by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs
Playing career	1996–2009
Position	Shooting guard / small forward
Coaching career	2015–present
Career history
As a player:
1996	Purefoods TJ Hotdogs
1997–2002	Alaska Milkmen
2003	Purefoods TJ Hotdogs
2004–2008	Barangay Ginebra Kings
2008–2009	Coca-Cola Tigers
As a coach:
2013–2014	San Sebastian (assistant)
2015	ATC Livermarin
2015	San Sebastian
2016–2022	UP (assistant)
2022	UST (assistant)
2025–present	Mindoro Tamaraws
Career highlights
7× PBA champion (1997 Governors', 1998 All-Filipino, 1998 Commissioner's, 2000 All-Filipino, 2004 Fiesta, 2004-05 Philippine, 2006-07 Philippine, 2008 Fiesta) 2× PBA All Star (1996, 2000) 2× PBA Mr. Quality Minutes (1998–1999) PBA Buzzerbeater Event Co-Champion (1999)

He currently serves as commissioner of the basketball league Sinag Liga Asya.^[1]

Collegiate career

Santos played for the San Sebastian high school and college teams from 1991 to 1995, winning the Most Valuable Player award in 1994.^[2]

Professional career

After a storied college career at San Sebastian, Santos was drafted second overall by Purefoods in the 1996 draft. Then he was traded to Alaska for Cris Bolado and Bryant Punzalan in 1997 and became one of Tim Cone's reliable contributors off the bench. He was re-acquired by Purefoods in 2003 as a free agent. After his stint with the TJ Hotdogs, he was then traded to Ginebra,^[3] and was a vital cog in coach Siot Tanquincen's rotation. His last stop was with the Coca-Cola Tigers before nagging injuries forced him into retirement.

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

^[4]

Season-by-season averages

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1996	Purefoods	49	15.8	.439	.158	.720	1.2	1.2	.8	.2	6.8
1997	Alaska	34	10.4	.452	.000	.625	1.0	.7	.2	.2	3.9
1998	Alaska	65	22.7	.464	.000	.765	2.4	1.5	.7	.3	7.2
1999	Alaska	56	22.0	.527	.000	.663	2.1	1.7	.8	.3	8.2
2000	Alaska	49	25.5	.507	.250	.670	2.4	1.8	1.0	.2	11.1
2001	Alaska	45	28.8	.429	.250	.782	2.6	2.1	.9	.2	8.5
2002	Alaska	59	19.4	.408	.356	.723	2.1	1.3	.7	.1	5.7
2003	Purefoods	36	22.0	.374	.293	.690	2.1	1.6	.9	.2	7.6
2004–05	Barangay Ginebra	78	31.0	.397	.279	.776	2.7	2.8	1.1	.3	9.9
2005–06	Barangay Ginebra	32	25.2	.349	.282	.699	2.3	1.8	.9	.1	7.8
2006–07	Barangay Ginebra	19	13.1	.383	.353	.667	.9	.7	.5	.0	4.4
2007–08	Barangay Ginebra	2	7.5	.429	.500	—	1.0	.5	.0	.0	3.5
2008–09	Coca-Cola	12	7.8	.303	.167	1.000	.8	.4	.0	.0	2.4
Career		536	22.2	.434	.283	.721	2.1	1.7	.8	.2	7.6

Coaching career

Santos served as part of San Sebastian's coaching staff.^[5] He entered the Stags coaching staff after coach Topex Robinson returned to the team for a second spell as coach in 2013. In 2015, he was officially named head coach of the Stags, replacing Robinson. He also coached the PBA D-League team, ATC Livermarin.^[6] The Stags finished the season in 7th place, off the playoff positions.^[7] Santos was replaced by Edgar Macaraya in 2016.^[8] Santos then became a part of Bo Perasol's coaching staff at UP.^[9] In 2022, Santos joined former Ginebra teammate Bal David at UST.^[10] UST finished last, losing 13 consecutive games after winning its season opener; David resigned, Santos then manned practices^[11] until Pido Jarencio was appointed as new coach.^[12]

Coaching record

Season	Team	Elimination round						Playoffs
		Finish	GP	W	L	PCT	PG	W	L	PCT	Results
2015	SSC-R	7th	18	6	12	.333	—	—	—	—	Eliminated
Totals			18	6	12	.333	—	—	—	—	0 championships