Jesus Joaquin Gaquit Melliza[1] (born April 20, 1992), nicknamed Jhan or Jess Melliza, is a Filipino footballer who plays as a striker for Philippines Football League (PFL) club Kaya–Iloilo and the Philippines.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jesus Joaquin Gaquit Melliza | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-04-20) April 20, 1992 (age 30) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Kaya–Iloilo | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 0000–2015 | Far Eastern University | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Green Archers United | ||
| 2017–2021 | Stallion Laguna | 66 | (36) |
| 2021– | Kaya–Iloilo | 9 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2022– | Philippines | 3 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:30; 10 August 2022 | |||
A native of La Paz, Iloilo City,[3][4] Melliza was born on April 20, 1992.[2][5]
Melliza played for the Far Eastern University[4] in the football tournament of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).[6] He ended his college stint with FEU in 2015 by helping his varsity team win the UAAP Season 77 football title.[7]
Melliza was already suiting up for Green Archers United of the United Football League while he was still playing college football for FEU.[7]
He was later signed in by Stallion Laguna by May 2017 to play at the Philippines Football League (PFL).[6] He was the top Filipino scorer in the PFL inaugural season.[8]
Melliza and Stallion teammate Fitch Arboleda joined Kaya–Iloilo in March 2021.[9]
He was to play for the under-23 team of the Philippines at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore but he was cut out from the final squad due to paperwork issues.[7]
Melliza earned his first call up for the Philippines senior national team in October 2017 for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup third round qualifier match against Yemen,[10][11] however, he had yet to earn an international cap for the team. In June 2022, he made his debut for the Philippines in a 1–0 win against Mongolia in the third round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.[12]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stallion Laguna | 2017 | PFL | 19 | 13 | – | – | 19 | 13 | ||
| 2018 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 2 | – | 23 | 10 | |||
| 2019 | 19 | 11 | 1 | 1 | – | 20 | 12 | |||
| 2020 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Kaya–Iloilo | 2021 | – | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 62 | 33 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 85 | 39 | ||