FOR the selection committee members, it was a no-brainer to include Abe King in the PBA’s next 10 Greatest Players list.
Committee member Andy Jao revealed that as early as their first meeting, King was already a unanimous choice among the group to be part of the league’s greatest.
READ: Asaytono, King, Tuadles part of PBA 50 Greatest Players at last
“As a matter of fact, the committee may not say but this is the first unanimous player that we all chose,” said Jao, a long-time PBA analyst. “Eventually, the others became unanimous.”
Insiders backed Jao's claim, stating there weren't any contention from the members when King was mentioned in the list.
Many felt that King should have been included as early as the naming of the 40 greatest players in 2015. King won 13 championships with Toyota, Great Taste, and Purefoods, and was one of the top defenders of his time from 1977 to 1994.
Jao said King did a lot for his team especially when he teamed up with Ramon Fernandez with Toyota at the frontcourt, but gave his opponent fits on defense.
“Abe made life easier for Ramon,” said Jao. “You can ask that because Ramon was a center and Abe was a power forward. Abe could guard anybody – a 5 (center), 4 (power forward), 3 (small forward), even if you ask him to guard a 2 because he had good lateral movement.”
Jao recalled how King defended then-import Norman Black during his prime.
“I have a good friend, coach Norman Black, the way Abe defended him, you can ask Norman, no local hd ever defended Norman the way he did during the prime of coach Norman,” said Jao. “He would follow him everywhere.”
Atoy Co shared the same sentiments as Jao, his fellow committee member.
“Si Abe, sinong tatalo doon sa rebounding. Parang kumakalawit lang ng buko o kaimito. Big time player din at siya rin lang ang talagang isa sa mga player na dumedepensa sa mga import,” said Co of King, his former rival during the Crispa-Toyota days.
“Parang si Philip Cezar din na isa sa mga dumedepensa sa import na kailangang may impact sila sa game. Kaya lang, hindi lang siya sinuwerte na mag-MVP pero marami rin siyang championship at mga stats,” said Co.
Benjie Paras and Ronnie Magsanoc, who hosted the revealing of the next 10 greatest players on TV, also described the game of King.
“He made it easier for the guards to do their job kasi kapag nagbigay ng pick, nakadikit na ‘yung bantay kaagad,” said Paras.
“Ang tawag ko kasi sa mga rebounders katulad nila Nelson (Asaytono), parang namimitas ng kaimito. ‘Yung kumakalawit ng isang kamay. Kapag nakikita mo si Abe King na ganun na bumabantay ng imports, maski na kampi ako sa Crispa noon at talagang hirap na hirap ang Crispa kila coach Dante noon, natutuwa ako talaga sa kanya kasi bukod tangi. Import stopper,” Magsanoc continued.
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