Alexander Cabagnot Jr. (born December 8, 1982) is a Filipino professionalbasketball player for theBasilan Starhorse of theMaharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and assistant coach for theUE Red Warriors of theUniversity Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He played forSta. Lucia,Coca-Cola,Burger King,San Miguel/Petron,GlobalPort,Terrafirma andConverge as well as thePhilippine national basketball team. He plays thepoint guard andshooting guard positions. He once had a rivalry withMark Caguioa for the Eagle Rock High School scoring record.[1]
Cabagnot was drafted by theSta. Lucia Realtors. He led all rookies during his rookie year in scoring (10.3 points per game), assists (4.7), steals (1.1) and minutes played (28.1). He was third in the league in the assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5) behindJimmy Alapag andJohnny Abarrientos.
After playing 2 seasons he was dealt to theCoca-Cola Tigers along with the agingKenneth Duremdes andRicky Calimag in exchange forDenok Miranda,Manny Ramos and Coca-Cola's 2007 second round draft pick.
On January 5, 2010, he was traded to theBurger King Whoppers along withWesley Gonzales, forGary David andChico Lanete. He played several games with Burger King, finishing at the 8th spot of the2009-10 PBA Philippine Cup.
During the off-season of the 2009–2010 Fiesta Conference, he was traded to theSan Miguel Beermen, forMike Cortez.
As a Beermen, Cabagnot quickly emerged as the starting quarterback for the team. Cabagnot dropped game winning shots during eliminations earning his nickname"The Crunchman". He did it on Alaska Aces, B-Meg Derby Ace Llmados scoring a basket on crucial possession. During game 1 of the 2010–2011 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series against the crowd favorite Ginebra Gin Kings, Alex made a clutch basket leaving the Gin Kings with only over a second. This nailed the series to a 1–0 lead in favor of the Beermen. SMB eventually won the duel in six games 4–2. In 2011, Cabagnot together with Arwind Santos and Danny Ildefonso lead Petron Blaze Boosters to a Governor's Cup title by hacking out a 4–3 decider in 7 games, thus foiling the Grand Slam bid of Talk N Text & captured his first PBA crown as a player.
On February 18, 2014, he was part of a complex four-team, seven player trade which sent him to GlobalPort. With his new team, he reunites with old teammateJay Washington and provided veteran leadership.[2] He said, "(The trade) came a little bit as an 'I-didn't-see-it-coming,' but when it did sink in, I just have to be a pro, go to the next team and try to do what I did with Petron and my other teams before".[3] On June 11, 2014, Cabagnot almost recorded a triple-double for GlobalPort Batang Piers as he racked up 19 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists but in a losing effort to the Air21 Express.
On October 26, 2014, Cabagnot recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists in a win over the Barako Bull Energy Boosters.
During the playoffs of the2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup, Alex Cabagnot was traded back toSan Miguel forSol Mercado.
On October 14, 2016, Cabagnot was recognized during the PBA Leo Awards Night as he was named to the PBA Mythcial Second Team.[4]
On June 21, 2019, during the 2019 Commissioner's Cup, Cabagnot scored a conference-high 31 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 6 assists in a win over the Alaska Aces. He led the Beermen in a much-needed win as they now have a record of 2–3 for the conference.[5]
On November 13, 2021, he was traded to theTerrafirma Dyip forSimon Enciso.[6] On December 18, he suffered atorn achilles tendon during a game against theNLEX Road Warriors which ended his season.[7]
On April 14, 2022, he signed a two-year contract extension with Terrafirma.[8] On October 19, 2023, he became an unrestricted free agent after being released by the team.[9]
On December 18, 2023, he signed with theGoyang Sono Skygunners of theKorean Basketball League, replacing Joshua Torralba as the team's Asian import.[10]
On August 5, 2024, Cabagnot returns to the PBA where he signed with theConverge FiberXers.[11]
On February 24, 2025, Cabagnot retired from the PBA and he became the assistant coach of theUE Red Warriors.[12]
"The Crunchman" currently plays for theBasilan Viva Portmasters.[13]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | MPG | Minutes per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage |
| 3FG% | 3-point field-goal percentage | 4P% | 4-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 |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | 4P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Sta. Lucia | 35 | 28.1 | .349 | .266 | — | .681 | 3.3 | 4.7 | 1.1 | .3 | 10.3 |
| 2006–07 | Sta. Lucia | 45 | 33.3 | .424 | .322 | — | .703 | 3.5 | 6.4 | 1.3 | .2 | 10.9 |
| Coca-Cola | ||||||||||||
| 2007–08 | Coca-Cola | 37 | 33.8 | .343 | .360 | — | .667 | 3.0 | 4.6 | 1.1 | .2 | 11.0 |
| 2008–09 | Coca-Cola | 32 | 37.0 | .356 | .240 | — | .667 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 1.4 | .4 | 10.8 |
| 2009–10 | Coca-Cola | 50 | 23.0 | .376 | .250 | — | .693 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 1.0 | .3 | 10.2 |
| Burger King | ||||||||||||
| San Miguel | ||||||||||||
| 2010–11 | San Miguel / Petron | 54 | 30.2 | .395 | .321 | — | .728 | 4.2 | 5.8 | 1.0 | .4 | 9.7 |
| 2011–12 | Petron | 46 | 35.5 | .390 | .383 | — | .745 | 3.6 | 6.2 | 1.1 | .3 | 13.4 |
| 2012–13 | Petron | 47 | 32.2 | .407 | .321 | — | .747 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 1.2 | .2 | 11.9 |
| 2013–14 | Petron | 34 | 35.6 | .378 | .311 | — | .696 | 4.4 | 6.2 | 1.3 | .2 | 13.1 |
| GlobalPort | ||||||||||||
| 2014–15 | GlobalPort | 52 | 29.5 | .366 | .350 | — | .705 | 4.5 | 4.7 | .8 | .1 | 11.1 |
| San Miguel | ||||||||||||
| 2015–16 | San Miguel | 56 | 32.5 | .404 | .342 | — | .745 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 1.0 | .1 | 14.3 |
| 2016–17 | San Miguel | 56 | 35.8 | .386 | .339 | — | .765 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 1.3 | .1 | 16.2 |
| 2017–18 | San Miguel | 51 | 34.0 | .375 | .276 | — | .795 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 1.3 | .1 | 13.8 |
| 2019 | San Miguel | 56 | 29.9 | .383 | .325 | — | .790 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 1.2 | .1 | 13.3 |
| 2020 | San Miguel | 12 | 29.6 | .401 | .250 | — | .711 | 3.8 | 3.8 | .8 | .0 | 12.6 |
| 2021 | San Miguel | 17 | 23.9 | .390 | .208 | — | .743 | 3.3 | 3.0 | .4 | .0 | 10.5 |
| Terrafirma | ||||||||||||
| 2022–23 | Terrafirma | 20 | 25.1 | .306 | .250 | — | .667 | 3.6 | 4.9 | .5 | .1 | 8.0 |
| 2024–25 | Converge | 18 | 11.7 | .370 | .381 | .000 | .917 | 1.7 | 1.9 | .4 | .1 | 3.3 |
| Career | 718 | 31.1 | .381 | .318 | .000 | .729 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 1.1 | .2 | 11.9 | |
| 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 |
As of the end of 2023–24 season[16]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | Goyang | 11 | 9.5 | .314 | .286 | .889 | .7 | 1.3 | .2 | .0 | 4.0 |
| Career | 11 | 9.5 | .314 | .286 | .889 | .7 | 1.3 | .2 | .0 | 4.0 | |
In December 2019, Cabagnot, along with his cousin Cris Gopez, established Fil-Am Nation Select, a program where young players with Filipino lineage can know more about Philippine basketball in the hope of bringing them over to play in leagues or even withGilas Pilipinas.[17] Aside from basketball, they have expanded the program to include volleyball, football, ice hockey, and baseball.[18][19] Among the basketball players Fil-Am Nation has handled include college standoutZavier Lucero and proSedrick Barefield.[20][21]
Cabagnot and Gopez also handle a basketball recreation league, Edge Basketball International, that boastsAtlanta Hawks drafteeOnyeka Okongwu as one of its former players.[22]
