Anjo Caram Explained

Number:17
Position:Point guard
Height Ft:5
Height In:7
Weight Lbs:159
League:PBA
Team:Meralco Bolts
Nationality:Filipino
Birth Date:14 January 1991
Birth Place:Iloilo City, Philippines
High School:St. Joseph's School of Iloilo (Iloilo City)
College:San Beda
Draft Year Pba:2013
Draft Round Pba:3
Draft Pick Pba:26
Draft Team Pba:Meralco Bolts
Career Start:2013
Years1:2013–present
Team1:Meralco Bolts
Highlights:

Antonio Jose Hechanova Caram (born January 14, 1991) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted in the third round (26th overall) in the 2013 PBA draft by the Bolts.[1]

College career

Caram played college basketball for San Beda Red Lions where he helped the team to win the NCAA Philippines Basketball Championship for four out of his five years in college.[2]

Professional career

Meralco Bolts (2013–present)

In 2013, Caram was drafted by Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). In the 2013–14 Philippine Cup, he finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists, plus a late three-pointer in the fourth that iced the win for Meralco against the Alaska Aces.[3]

In the 2017–18 Philippine Cup, Caram had 16 points in their first game against Barangay Ginebra since their Finals series, where Meralco lost.[4]

In the 2019 Governors' Cup, he became the shortest player to score 30 points in a game, with 16 of those points coming in the fourth quarter.[5] For that performance, he was named Player of the Week.[6] Following that conference, he was signed to a two-year extension.[7]

During the 2023 Governors' Cup, Caram had a season-high 18 points in a win over the Terrafirma Dyip.[8]

PBA career statistics

As of the end of 2023–24 season[9] [10]

Season-by-season averages

|-| align=left | | align=left | Meralco| 22 || 13.6 || .308 || .267 || .708 || .9 || 1.5 || .3 || || 2.8|-| align=left | | align=left | Meralco| 23 || 12.6 || .358 || .160 || .875 || 1.3 || 1.0 || .4 || .1 || 3.0|-| align=left | | align=left | Meralco| 35 || 12.6 || .449 || .250 || .550 || .9 || 1.3 || .6 || .0 || 3.4|-| align=left | | align=left | Meralco| 44 || 11.5 || .414 || .500 || .667 || 1.0 || 1.0 || .3 || || 3.3|-| align=left | | align=left | Meralco| 41 || 18.6 || .476 || .170 || .813 || 1.3 || 1.4 || .5 || .1 || 6.3|-| align=left | | align=left | Meralco| 40 || 13.5 || .428 || .297 || .762 || 1.0 || 1.3 || .4 || .1 || 4.1|-| align=left | | align=left | Meralco| 10 || 5.0 || .500 || .000 || || .3 || .2 || || || 1.2|-| align=left | | align=left | Meralco| 34 || 14.1 || .424 || .321 || .667 || .9 || 1.4 || .3 || .0 || 4.0|-| align=left | | align=left | Meralco| 38 || 10.2 || .451 || .474 || .909 || .7 || 1.0 || .1 || .0 || 3.7|-| align=left | | align=left | Meralco| 32 || 13.7 || .410 || .406 || .733 || .6 || 1.1 || .2 || .1 || 4.2|-class=sortbottom| align=center colspan=2 | Career| 319 || 13.1 || .427 || .331 || .733 || .9 || 1.2 || .3 || .0 || 3.9

Player profile

Although Caram is mostly a bench player for the Bolts and averages around 4 points a game, he has established himself as one of the team's top perimeter defenders[11] and was hailed by teammate and Philippine national team legend Jimmy Alapag as "one of the best on-ball defenders" in the league.[12] With his decision-making and passing, he can start games whenever a teammate is injured.

Notes and References

  1. News: COMPLETE 2013 PBA DRAFT RESULTS . . November 3, 2013 . March 6, 2016 .
  2. Web site: Olivares. Rick. May 17, 2016. Anjo Caram: The Little Big Man is making it to the pros. February 7, 2022. ABS-CBN News.
  3. Web site: DE LEON . JOB B. . PBA: No Dillinger, no problem as Meralco Bolts zap Alaska Aces . 2022-02-07 . GMA News Online . en.
  4. Web site: Sacamos. Karlo. Feb 18, 2018. Anjo Caram admits thirst for revenge against Ginebra inspired career game. 2022-02-07. Spin.ph. en.
  5. Web site: Meralco's Anjo Caram, shortest PBA player to score 30. 2022-02-07. www.pba.ph. en.
  6. Web site: After career game, Meralco's Caram named PBA Player of the Week. 2022-02-07. Philstar.com.
  7. Web site: Ramos. Gerry. March 1, 2020. Allein Maliksi, Anjo Caram signed to new contracts as Meralco keeps nucleus. 2022-02-07. Spin.ph. en.
  8. Web site: Dioquino . Delfin . February 4, 2023 . Anjo Caram makes up for lost time in Meralco return from injury layoff . February 6, 2023 . RAPPLER . en-US.
  9. Web site: Anjo Caram Player Profile, Meralco Bolts - PBA-Online.net . PBA-Online.net . 2023-04-01 . 2014-08-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140829123606/http://www.pba-online.net/profile/Anjo-Caram/558/ . bot: unknown .
  10. Web site: Anjo Caram Player Profile, Meralco Bolts - RealGM . basketball.realgm.com.
  11. News: Sacamos . Karlo . Anjo Caram shows defensive side after limiting Terrence Romeo to conference-low output . Spin.ph . February 28, 2016 . March 6, 2016 .
  12. News: Joble . Rey . Jimmy Alapag calls Meralco teammate Anjo Caram 'one of the best on-ball defenders' in the PBA . InterAksyon . February 28, 2016 . March 6, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160306104648/http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/jimmy-alapag-calls-meralco-teammate-anjo-caram-one-of-the-best-on-ball-defenders-in-the-pba . March 6, 2016 . dead .