Rhenz Abando is Korea’s highest-paid Filipino import

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Thinking of how much our young Filipino superstars earn in playing at the Korean Basketball League as Asian imports?

According to multiple reports from Korean sports websites, our Filipino imports earn a decent amount of South Korean won depending on their respective agreed contracts.

However, Rhenz Abando, NCAA’s Rookie Most Valuable Player (MVP) and a champion with the Letran Knights, was ranked first after his reported earnings hit the ₩237,000,000 mark or 9,786,911 pesos.

Abando agreed to a two-year deal with the Anyang KGC basketball club and is earning around 1,090,000 pesos per month.

The high-flying small forward already showed flashes of his MVP form during their last game when he dropped 19 points, three rebounds, one assist, and a steal to lead Anyang cruise past Sangmu, 90-73.

Terms under his second year are yet to be disclosed and may have a possibility of perks, raises, and bonuses if he performs well in his first year which is effective as of now.

Abando was highly touted by Anyang after a stellar rookie season in the NCAA while making his debut in the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national team.

Despite limited minutes during the past FIBA windows, Abando was highly utilized by past coach Nenad Vucinic during two friendly games against the Korean national team.

Abando was shooting lights out against Korea in both friendly matches and averaged 18 points per game built from an efficient three-point percentage.

Meanwhile, RJ Abarrientos and SJ Belangel, Abando’s teammates in the national team who are also playing as imports in the KBL, signed a ₩193,000,000 (7,969,932 pesos) and ₩132,000,000 (5,451,243 pesos), respectively.

Abarrientos is currently filling the point guard role of the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis and will still be with the team for two more seasons after inking a three-year deal.

Belangel on the other hand is playing for the Daegu KOGAS club and finalized a two-year contract upon arriving in Korea.