Kyt Jimenez
Krystoffe "Kyt" Mauricio Jimenez is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. Born in Saudi Arabia, Jimenez played college basketball for FEU and Perpetual before suffering multiple injuries. Jimenez subsequently joined, and gained notoriety, with Mavs Phenomenal Basketball, a basketball development program with a large online following, particularly in YouTube, which paved way for a professional career.
Jimenez made his professional debut in 2022 with the Sarangani Marlins of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League before moving to the GenSan Warriors in 2023. During the PBA season 48 draft, Jimenez was drafted by San Miguel in the ninth round with the 76th overall pick. After signing a two-year deal with the team, he became the lowest draft pick to be signed by a PBA team. He won a championship with the team during his rookie season. However, he was relegated to the unrestricted free agent list, the following season.
Jimenez is just one of three players to achieve a rare quadruple-double in a Philippine professional basketball game, the others being Donbel Belano and Stefanie Berberabe.
College career
In college, Kyt Jimenez first played for the FEU Tamaraws before moving to the Perpetual Altas. During his Perpetual stint, however, Jimenez suffered multiple injuries.Professional career
Sarangani Marlins and the quaruple-double (2022)
On April 25, 2022, he would make his professional debut during the opening gameday of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's 2022 season. Playing for the Sarangani Marlins, Jimenez scored 22 points on top of seven rebounds and four assists to give Sarangani the win over Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. Jimenez would go on to become an all-star starter during the 2022 MPBL All-Star Game.On October 10, 2022, in a game against the Mindoro Tams, Jimenez recorded 33 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, and 11 steals, achieving the elusive quadruple-double. It was the first and currently only time that occurred in the MPBL and only the second time in all of Philippine professional basketball.
Jimenez led Sarangani to the third seed in the South, but the run was cut short by an upset sweep from the Rizal Golden Coolers during the division quarterfinals of the 2022 MPBL playoffs. Jimenez would go on to win the inaugural MPBL Rookie of the Year award after averaging 17.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.