GLOWING GOLDIES: PBA honors 50 greatest players on 50th anniversary
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial (sixth from left) and PBA vice chairman Alfrancis Chua (sixth from right) roll out the red carpet for Jaime ‘Jimmy’ Noblezada and Elmer ‘Boy’ Cabahug during the Philippine Cup game between Meralco and San Miguel Beer late Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA
Legends and current stars light up a night of glitz and glamor as the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) stages the formal recognition of the additional names to be elevated in the league’s 50 Greatest Players.
In celebration of its golden anniversary, Asia’s first pay-for-play hoops league will roll out the red carpet for the latest batch of PBA greats tonight at the Solaire Resort North in Quezon City.
Active cagers, eight-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer and 2021 MVP Scottie Thompson, banner the additional 10 PBA stars that expanded the elite list of the initial 40 Greatest.
The formal event begins at 7 p.m., two hours after the red-carpet arrival opens at 5 p.m. Celebrity Maja Salvador and rockstar Bamboo will be performing to add color to the event.
Fajardo, also an 11-time Best Player of the Conference with 10 titles under his belt, and Thompson are automatically included in the third batch PBA Greatest based on the rule and criteria adopted by the 10-man screening committee chaired by former PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios.
The additional names were unveiled last 2 April.
Also earning his place in the list in a long-overdue selection is Nelson Asaytono, who was snubbed twice in the selection after failing to make the 25 Greatest Players cut back in 2000 and again in the second batch in 2015.
The 58-year-old Asaytono, a two-time BPC winner and seven-time champion, known as “The Bull” during his 17-year PBA career, received a unanimous vote from the screening panel.
Blackwater coach Jeffrey Cariaso, the 1995 Rookie of the Year (RoY), also earned his seat along with former Alaska teammate Bong Hawkins — both 11-time PBA champs and part of the fabled Milkmen that completed a grand slam in 1996.
Thirteen-time PBA titlist Abe King, two-time BPC and 1999 RoY Danny Seigle, Yoyoy Villamin, a nine-time PBA champion and member of the 1983 grand slam champion Crispa, and six-time PBA champion Manny Victorino have also received the nod to join the elite club.
The late great Arnie Tuadles, a nine-time champion and 1979 RoY, will be recognized posthumously.
Barrios led the Selection Committee composed of four-time MVP and all-time scoring leader Ramon Fernandez, 1979 MVP Atoy Co, 1990 MVP Allan Caidic, five-time champion coach Dante Silverio and sports journalists Ding Marcelo, Al Mendoza, Nelson Beltran, Andy Jao and Joaquin Henson.
The panel held its initial meeting last 6 February and convened two more times before coming up with the final 10 names from the shortlist of 32 nominees.