Jansen Rios is often described as one of the most underrated but hardworking players in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) right now.
Rios is one of the players recruited by Leo Austria to play basketball for the Adamson Falcons from 2011 to 2015. The 6-foot-2 guard who hails from Romblon, averaged 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds during his last season with the Falcons under coach Kenneth Duremdes.
Rios was picked 25th overall in the 2015 PBA Draft by the NLEX Road Warriors, where he spent his frst four seasons in the league. In 2020, Rios signed with Phoenix Fuel Masters where he became a key player in their rotation in the team’s bold attempt to reach the Finals during the Philippine Cup bubble.
Although he only averaged 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 17 games with the team during the bubble season, his intangibles as a blue-collar player served coach Topex Robinson in good stead.
He was a big part of the Fuel Masters’ strong playoff run that saw them came a win short of entering the finals for the first time in franchise history. Phoenix lost to TnT Tropang Giga in the do-or-die Game 5 of their semifinals series.
At the end of his contract in 2023, Rios signed a new contract with the Meralco Bolts.
The Bolts need a defensive stopper with a decent three-point shooting and this is what the 31-year-old Rios brought to the team. It became more evident on 6 December when Rios stepped up big and drilled a crucial triple as Meralco survived a huge scare from Terrafirma, 96-91.
Facing a world of pressure after the Dyip erased a once comfortable 13-point lead in the fourth quarter, Rios drained a right corner trey off a nice feed from import DJ Kennedy that proved to be enough to restore order for the Bolts.
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