_-_2017-0301_(33159040946).jpg) Mercado with theBarangay Ginebra San Miguel in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1984-05-06)May 6, 1984 (age 40) Yolo County, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | Filipino / American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Capital Christian (Sacramento, California) |
| College | Biola (2003–2007) |
| PBA draft | 2008: 1st round, 5th overall pick |
| Selected by theAlaska Aces | |
| Playing career | 2008–2019 |
| Position | Point guard /shooting guard |
| Career history | |
| 2008–2010 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters |
| 2010–2013 | Meralco Bolts |
| 2013–2014 | GlobalPort Batang Pier |
| 2014 | San Miguel Beermen |
| 2014 | GlobalPort Batang Pier |
| 2015 | Barako Bull Energy |
| 2015–2019 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel |
| 2019 | NorthPort Batang Pier |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Solomon Jemuel Rayos Mercado (born May 6, 1984) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player in thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as the "Sol-Train", he had an impressive PBA rookie season and eventually became a reliable point guard for most of the teams he played for.
Mercado was originally drafted by theAlaska Aces as the fifth pick in the2008 PBA draft.[1] However, he was immediately traded to theRain or Shine Elasto Painters, together withEddie Laure forJoe Devance and the 2009 and 2010 second round picks of Alaska.
With all the focus onGabe Norwood, that year's first pick overall, and not much hype Mercado scored a record 29 points in his rookie debut game, the highest sinceAsi Taulava scored 32 points forMobiline in his winning debut.[2] This achievement made him the PBA Player of the Week for the opening week. Since then, he slowly became one of thePBA's elite point guards.
If not for a hamstring injury that sidelined him in a couple of games into their semifinal series against theBarangay Ginebra Kings,[3] Rain or Shine would probably have gone farther in the Fiesta Conference. A member of the All-Rookie Team,[4] Mercado finished second to teammateGabe Norwood for Rookie of the Year honors. Mercado emerged as the team's top scorer with 13.5 points per game and his 4.5 assists per night did not only lead the team but was also number 6 overall among locals. The only glitch in his rookie season was his 2.9 turnovers per game which ranked seventh overall and led the rookies in that category.
He was the team's cornerstone as he became one of the leaders for the Painters. He scored a career-high 35 points in a loss to Alaska.[5] Against theCoca-Cola Tigers in a knockout game, he scored 28 points to lead them into the quarterfinals.[6] But unfortunately they would end up short after losing to thePurefoods Tender Juicy Giants.[citation needed]
He averaged 17.7 points in the eliminations then had a 45-point outburst against theB-Meg Derby Ace Llamados. In another knock out game against theTigers, he delivered crucial plays, despite fouling out, in a come from behind win. Against theLlamados in Game 3, he almost recorded a triple double with 16 points 15 assists and nine rebounds. But, in Game 5 of the series, they lost to the Llamados. During this time, he had to deal with his father being in critical condition due to a severe heart attack.[7]
Before the start of the2011 PBA Commissioner's Cup, he andJay-R Reyes were among the eight players involved in the three-way trade between Meralco, Rain or Shine andAir21 in what was easily one of the biggest trades that happened in that season.[8] Mercado, along withPaolo Bugia were shipped to the Bolts forBeau Belga.
In a2012 Governors' Cup game, Mercado scored 24 points in a win over theTalk ‘N Text Tropang Texters.[9] During the2012–13 Philippine Cup, he had 24 points and nine assists in a win over Globalport.[10] In their quarterfinal series against Alaska, he was injured, and Meralco did not advance.[11]
Before the start of the2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup, he along withKelly Nabong, Jaypee Belencion andYousif Aljamal were traded toGlobalPort Batang Pier forRey Guevarra,Vic Manuel,Josh Vanlandingham and a 2015 first round pick.[12] This made him the first-ever player in PBA history to be traded or moved to another team after leading the league in scoring and assists the previous conference.[13]
During the Commissioner's Cup, Mercado had three straight games where he had double-doubles.[14] He then had to sit out the rest of the conference as not to aggravate a right shoulder injury.[15] During the2013 Governors' Cup, tension arose between him and his coachJunel Baculi over an uncalled timeout in a loss to theBarako Bull Energy.[16] The following game, he bounced back as he scored all of his 15 points in the second half in a comeback win over Meralco as they came back from 20 points down. He was able to lead Globalport to its first playoff appearance, where they lost to the defending Governors' Cup champion Rain or Shine.[17]
The following season, Mercado played a part in the early development of rookie teammateTerrence Romeo by becoming his mentor.[18] During the2013–14 Philippine Cup, he scored a conference-high 33 points, with 19 of those coming in the second half of a comeback win over Meralco.[19] He missed several games due to a strain on his right Achilles.[20]
Before the start of the2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup, Mercado was traded toSan Miguel in exchange forAlex Cabagnot.[21] The2014 PBA Governors' Cup was one of the worst conferences of his career, as he averaged just 7.6 points on 35% shooting from the field.[22]
Before the2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup trade deadline, just before the playoffs, Mercado was traded back to GlobalPort, together with San Miguel's 2018 and 2019 second round picks, in exchange for Cabagnot.[23] He didn't approve of the trade, comparing the trade to someone going back to a bad ex-girlfriend on his Twitter account.[24] His only game in this stint was when Globalport was kicked out of the playoffs by Ginebra, in which he had nine points, four rebounds, and three assists.[25]
On January 8, 2015, Mercado was traded again by GlobalPort, this time to Barako Bull which gave upDenok Miranda and a 2016 second round pick.[26] To begin the2015 Commissioner's Cup, he had 20 points, three assists, and a steal in a winning debut over theBlackwater Elite.[27]
On May 4, 2015, before the start of2015 PBA Governors' Cup Mercado was traded to Barangay Ginebra in exchange ofJoseph Yeo.[28] He debuted for Barangay Ginebra on May 8, 2015, with eight points and eight assists, against the team that drafted him, the Alaska Aces, but his new team lost.[29] He missed a game that conference due to food poisoning.[30] Against another of his former teams, Barako Bull, he scored 14 points to help Ginebra get the win.[31] They faced Alaska in the playoffs, where he had 21 points and seven assists, but it wasn't enough as Alaska ended Ginebra's season.[32]
In the offseason, Ginebra changed head coaches, with Tim Cone taking over.[33] During aPhilippine Cup Christmas Day game against theStar Hotshots, Mercado missed what could have been the game-winning layup and the game went into overtime.[34] In overtime, he scored six points and made the assist toLA Tenorio for the game-winning triple. In aCommissioner's Cup loss toTalk 'N Text, he had 11 points with three three-pointers.[35] Against Alaska in aGovernors' Cup elimination game, he had 22 points but lost.[36] He then started at small forward for the injuredChris Ellis, and contributed 19 points and four assists in a win over Meralco.[37] He scored 19 again in a win versus Rain or Shine with six threes, becoming more adjusted to Coach Cone's system.[38] In the playoffs, Ginebra advanced past Alaska in the quarterfinals.[39] In the semis, they went up against sister team San Miguel, where in Game 1, he had 19 points, five assists, three boards, and one steal in 36 minutes off the bench as Ginebra went up 1–0.[40] At the end of five games, Ginebra advanced to theFinals.[41] There he faced his former team in Meralco.[42] In Game 2, he defended Meralco's import Allen Durham, and scored the game-winning putback, tying the series.[43] The following game, he got into foul trouble, allowing Durham to dominate with 36 points and 20 rebounds as Ginebra lost.[44] After eight seasons in the PBA, he finally got his first PBA championship when Ginebra importJustin Brownlee made the game-winning three pointer in Game 6.[45]
In aPhilippine Cup loss to San Miguel, Mercado had 11 points and six rebounds.[46] In the playoffs, he had 12 points and six assists to force a do-or-die game against Alaska.[47] They moved on to the semis against the Hotshots where in Game 2, he missed a game-tying layup that sent Ginebra into a 0–2 deficit.[48] He bounced back the following game with 16 points and two clutch threes that led to Star's first loss of the series.[49] In Game 4, he got into a confrontation with Hotshots guardJio Jalalon, but was still able to help Ginebra tie the series.[50] In Game 6, he had a game-high 21 points (with 12 coming in the fourth quarter) while holdingPaul Lee to just eight points to force a Game 7.[51] This earned him PBA Player of the Week honors. In Game 7, he led the team with 23 points, four rebounds, and five assists while holding Lee to just four points, and Ginebra returned to theFinals.[52] There, Ginebra fell to the Beermen in five games.[53] During the2017 All-Star Week, he competed in the Obstacle Challenge.[54] In theGovernors' Cup, he helped Ginebra return to theFinals for a rematch with Meralco.[55] In Game 4 of the Finals, he sprained his left ankle when he blocked Meralco'sJared Dillinger.[56] He wasn't able to play the rest of the Finals, but Ginebra still won its second straight Governors' Cup title.[57]
In thePhilippine Cup, Mercado helped Ginebra clinch a spot in the semifinals by putting up solid numbers against Rain or Shine.[58] There, they lost to San Miguel in five games.[59] In theCommissioner's Cup, he suffered a rib injury.[60] He made his return during theGovernor's Cup.[61]
In a loss to the Batang Pier, Mercado had a double-double of 10 points and 11 assists.[62] They entered thePhilippine Cup playoffs as the third seed. There, they were defeated by the Hotshots.[63] In aCommissioner's Cup win over Meralco, he had 14 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and a steal.[64] In his final game with Ginebra, he had 12 points as Ginebra got their 1,000th franchise win.[65]
On June 18, 2019, Mercado, along withJervy Cruz andKevin Ferrer, was traded back to the Batang Pier forStanley Pringle.[66] This was his third stint with the Batang Pier franchise. In his first game back, he started and added 14 markers, five caroms, five dimes, a steal, and a block in a win over Blackwater.[67] He had 12 points in a win over Meralco.[68] The Batang Pier faced Ginebra in theGovernors' Cup semifinals where in Game 1, he added 14 points to a blowout of Ginebra.[69] In Game 2 however, he twisted his ankle after stepping on Tenorio's foot, and had to leave the game.[70] He was deemed out for the rest of the playoffs.[71]
On January 20, 2020, Mercado was traded to thePhoenix Pulse Fuel Masters forLA Revilla andRey Guevarra.[72] He never played for Phoenix however as contract negotiations fell through.[73]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Rain or Shine | 36 | 31.1 | .389 | .263 | .622 | 3.3 | 4.5 | .8 | .1 | 13.5 |
| 2009–10 | Rain or Shine | 46 | 34.5 | .413 | .315 | .683 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 1.2 | .2 | 16.7 |
| 2010–11 | Rain or Shine | 29 | 37.1 | .393 | .282 | .592 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 1.1 | .2 | 17.7 |
| Meralco | |||||||||||
| 2011–12 | Meralco | 37 | 31.5 | .384 | .266 | .551 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 1.1 | .3 | 13.6 |
| 2012–13 | Meralco | 37 | 35.5 | .393 | .272 | .691 | 3.6 | 6.9 | 1.0 | .2 | 16.2 |
| GlobalPort | |||||||||||
| 2013–14 | GlobalPort | 33 | 30.6 | .375 | .191 | .646 | 3.3 | 4.2 | .6 | .1 | 12.3 |
| San Miguel | |||||||||||
| 2014–15 | San Miguel | 33 | 26.7 | .390 | .200 | .651 | 2.9 | 3.8 | .7 | .1 | 8.5 |
| GlobalPort | |||||||||||
| Barako Bull | |||||||||||
| Barangay Ginebra | |||||||||||
| 2015–16 | Barangay Ginebra | 48 | 25.0 | .410 | .324 | .565 | 2.7 | 3.2 | .5 | .1 | 8.1 |
| 2016–17 | Barangay Ginebra | 57 | 24.4 | .394 | .250 | .561 | 3.2 | 3.3 | .7 | .2 | 7.8 |
| 2017–18 | Barangay Ginebra | 44 | 20.6 | .408 | .321 | .625 | 2.4 | 2.5 | .8 | .3 | 6.5 |
| 2019 | Barangay Ginebra | 39 | 19.6 | .415 | .278 | .535 | 2.6 | 2.6 | .8 | .2 | 5.5 |
| NorthPort | |||||||||||
| Career | 439 | 28.3 | .396 | .275 | .625 | 3.3 | 3.9 | .8 | .2 | 11.1 | |
Mercado played for Puerto Rico's youth basketball teams when he was around 12–13 years old.[76] He received offers to play for its national team.
Mercado was also a member of the Philippine National Basketball team,Smart Gilas. He was personally handpicked byRajko Toroman alongsideKelly Williams andAsi Taulava.[77] He played for the Philippines in the2012 William Jones Cup.[76] He was on the roster for the2010 Asian Games, but didn't get to play due to injuries on both of his feet.[78] Although he is ineligible forFIBA events, he served as a practice player for Gilas' FIBA tournaments.[79]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 William Jones Cup | Smart Gilas | 8 | 17.25 | .178 | 0.00 | .575 | 3.125 | 2.875 | 0.5 | 0.125 | 5.63 |
Mercado is half-Filipino and half-Puerto Rican, with his mother Rosalie fromPampanga and his father Aaron fromPuerto Rico.[76][81] His father died at age 51 in 2012 due to a heart attack.
Mercado was previously engaged to actressDenise Laurel.[82] However, on October 20, 2016, a day after Ginebra won their first title after 8 years, Laurel announced through her Instagram account that they have ended their relationship.[83]
On September 29, 2021, Mercado and beauty queenSandra Lemonon announced on their respectiveInstagram accounts that they are in a relationship.[84] They got engaged the following year and welcomed their first son Zaiah Rafael that year as well.[85] In 2024, they married inBali, Indonesia.[86]
In 2023, Mercado, along with Norwood, Devance, and Dillinger, launched a podcast known as "Let It Fly".[87]
Philippines squad | |||||||
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