ONE of the most well-known figures in Letran basketball who is credited for discovering former Knights star Kerby Raymundo passed away on Monday.
Condolences poured in after news came out about the death of Manuel ‘Molet’ Pineda, a member of the Letran Knights team that regained the NCAA men’s championship in 1970,
He was 71.
LIST: Brothers who played in the PBA
Pineda, whose late brother Ricky was a former player, too, and a teammate at Letran, was a PBA pioneer who played for Royal Tru-Orange and U-Tex from 1975 to 1981.
He was also known as the one who first saw the potential of the 6-foot-6 Raymundo in Bataan. He later brought him to Intramuros where he won back-to-back NCAA titles for Letran (1998 and 1999), while winning the MVP plum in his final season.
Pineda won’t win his first and only championship in Asia’s pioneering pro league until the 1980 Open Conference, best known for the ‘most memorable last 16 seconds in PBA history’ when the Wranglers wiped out a four-point deficit in regulation and beat powerhouse Toyota in the deciding Game 5 for the franchise’s breakthrough title.
But Pineda will always be synonymous to Letran as he steered the Knights to the NCAA crown 53 years ago by beating La Salle, 94-82, for a sweep of the best-of-three playoffs.
Among Pineda’s teammates in that Knights team coached by Gabby Fajardo were Dave Regullano, Rudy Hines, Rino Salazar, and his brother Ricky, who was adjudged Rookie of the Year.
After his playing days, he moved into coaching and handled Purefoods in the defunct Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL), Burger City, and Zest-O Juice Drink.
He also had a coaching stint in the PBA as deputy of Salazar at Formula Shell from 1991-93. For a while, he also served as the manager of both Raymundo and Willie Miller, another former Letran star.
Pineda also had a chance at calling the shots for his alma mater during the 1996-98 seasons, but never got to replicate the same success he had as a player as San Sebastian reigned as NCAA king back then.
But he did steer the Letran Squires to the NCAA junior championships in 1990 following a sweep of both pennants behind a team bannered by Chris Cantonjos, Alvin Magpantay, and Francis Arabit.
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