ADRIANO 'Dong' Polistico, a bruising center who won PBA championships with Alaska and San Miguel, died of a heart attack on Wednesday, his longtime agent cofirmed.
The 6-7 Polistico was picked fourth overall by Alaska in the 1988 PBA Rookie Draft and played nine seasons in the league with the Milk Kings (now Aces) and Beermen.
He was part of Alaska's first-ever champion team in the 1991 Third Conference and later became part of the Philippine team put together by Norman Black for the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima.
The former Letran center played for Welcoat in the PBL and briefly with the Iloilo Megavoltz in the MBA before retiring in 2000.
Veteran players' agent Danny Espiritu said Polistico was based in his hometown in Davao during his retirement and even served as an elected public official.
On Wednesday, Espiritu said he got a call from Polistico's best friend who informed him that the former PBA player had died after suffering a heart attack.
"Palaban sa court, pero mabait sa labas," said Espiritu said of his former player,
Espiritu said a short tribute will be made at the PBA semifinal games on Wednesday for Polistico and former Abante sports columnist Malou Aquino, who died of cancer on Tuesday.
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