Vergel Meneses is a Filipino politician, serving as mayor of the municipality of Bulakan, Bulacan. He is also a retired professional basketball player who played in the PBA.
In 1995, Vergel Meneses won the prestigious Most Valuable Player award after only four years in the league when he averaged a career-high 20.0 points, 5.4 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 3.3 rebounds per game in 70 games. He made it once again to the Mythical First Team, his 4th straight All-Star appearance where he won the first of his record-setting 4 All-Star MVP awards, and the BPC awards of the first two conferences, the All-Filipino and Commissioner’s Cups as well as the Pro Basketball Player of the Year award from both the PSA and SCOOP Awards giving bodies. By winning the BPC awards of the first two conferences, he became the first multiple, as well as three-time winner, of the said award.
He also led his team, re-christened as Sunkist Orange Juice, to the championship of both the All-Filipino and Commissioner’s Cups (with Ronnie Grandison as import). After that, the coveted Grand Slam was beckoning. However, a loss to the Shell Rimula-X team in the playoff for the second finals berth denied them a shot at clinching what would have been only the 4th Grand Slam during the time in the league after the Crispa Redmanizers (1976 and 1983), and the San Miguel Beermen (1989). They eventually finished 2nd runner-up with import Stevin Smith in tow. In the process, he also lost the BPC award to former teammate Caidic for the conference denying him a sweep of the individual awards for the year (season MVP, All-Star MVP, BPC awards, Mythical First Team).
In 1999, after months of speculation, Vergel Meneses was finally dealt to crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra Kings for Luis Manuel “Noli” Locsin. For the year, Vergel Meneses established himself as the Kings go-to-guy by averaging 16.7 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game in 32 games. He was also voted as a starter to the 1999 All-Star game but was unable to play due to injury.
The year 2000 was another good year for Vergel Meneses as he further cemented his place in the annals of the PBA as well as the PBL. He was selected as part of the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players as well as the PBL’s 12 Greatest Legacy Team. He again made another All-Star appearance, his 8th, where he won his 3rd All-Star MVP award. For the season, Vergel Meneses averaged 13.3 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game in 32 games.
