Birthday Greetings to Mark Isip ( Dec 12 )

Mark Isip Far Eastern / Born Dec. 10, 1980
6-3 7/16, Center
THE NO. 6 DRAFT PICK OVERALL DIDN'T REALLY GET THE CHANCE
to show his true worth, weighed down by the pressure playing behind Dennis Espino, Marlou Aquino and Kelly Williams. He deferred a lot to the three, something that was not expected of him following a decent amateur career spiked by championships with FEU in the UAAP and Magnolia in the PBL. He. together with former FEU teammate Cesar Catli, was traded to Coca-Cola for Joseph Yeo prior to the 2007-08 campaign. Marked as the "thinking player" because of his name, Mark Isip is the first legitimate big man snatched from the draft. Teams kept a stern eye on this 6-foot-5 slotman from the Far Eastern University during the rookie camp, all of them wishing to grab Isip and shore up their frontline. A hot commodity because of his skills in the paint, Isip's PBA ticket was through Sta. Lucia Realty when the team named him the sixth overall pick. Just like Williams, Isip didn't fail the Realtors. The idea was to make him a backup for either Dennis Espino or Marlou Aquino but Isip's string of brilliant performances was more than what the team was asking for.