PJ Simon calls it a career after lengthy and loyal spell in the PBA

"This is PJ Simon, The SuperSub, Your Scoring Apostle, signing out."

One of the rare breeds in the Philippine Basketball Association, Peter June Simon has called it a career after more than a decade and a half with just one team.

Silent but deadly, he has become synonymous with loyalty to the Magnolia Hotshots, with the then-Purefoods TJ Hotdogs picked him up in 2004, three years after he was drafted in the fifth round, but left unsigned by the Sta. Lucia Realtors.

Before the PBA, Simon grind his way upstairs to make it to the big time, first being noticed nationwide on the former Metropolitan Basketball Association for the Davao Eagles, in which he moved up to PBL's Lamoiyan franchise in 2003.

His performances for Hapee, and then Fash saw him win two more titles before jumping to the PBA, where he formed a solid trinity with James Yap and Marc Pingris for most of his career. Ironically, Yap and Pingris were Simon's rivals in the PBL when the duo suited up for Welcoat.

The trio became a duo for two seasons from when the Pinoy Sakuragi was shipped to San Miguel Beer, but was reformed in 2009 when Pingris returned to the then-TJ Giants which spanned until Yap's trade in 2016.

That troika produced seven titles with each other, including a coveted grand slam in 2014 under Tim Cone, where he was the designated sixth man in his triangle offense.

Retirement was already on his plans already as he had already said that this season's Philippine Cup will be his last, but it has been pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic that locked down the entire sporting scene in the country.

Furthermore, Simon was demoted to the free agency by the Hotshots as the league plans to reboot the season by October in Clark.

This Wednesday, the North Cotabato-born sniper made it official as he hangs up his sneakers for good on his lengthy Instagram post, after eight All Star appearances and eight championships, most recently the 2018 Governors' Cup in 17 seasons.

The pandemic forced him to think about his future off the court, in which the demise of his father was the sure sign that it is time to say goodbye.

"Sign na rin siguro yun na ito na yung tamang time para magretiro," said one of the best super-subs in the league, who also won two Quality Minutes awards by the PBA press corps.

Apart from his father's death, his desire to form a family was also a huge factor in his retirement, announcing the pregnancy of his beauty queen wife Jehza Huelar in which he wished to spend more time with her.

He wrote, "Binigay ko yung 17 years ng buhay ko sa PBA, sa Magnolia Hotshots, at sa lahat ng fans but now it’s time to focus on my family."

Getting the chance to play in the PBA was a huge blessing for him, in which he wishes that their supporters will be there when his number 8 jersey gets its well-deserved farewell after it was pushed back from its original May 10 schedule against Barangay Ginebra.

"Umaasa ako na magkikita-kita tayo sa panahon na iretiro ang aking numero," Simon quipped, as he was expected to be the fourth player in Purefoods history to have his number retired, after legends such as Alvin Patrimonio, Rey Evangelista and Jerry Codinera.

Photos: PBA (Cover), PJ Simon's Instagram (graphics by @GeraldDesign)