PBA pioneer and UAAP champion coach Jacinto ‘Jack’ Chua passed away on Monday after a lingering illness.
He was 73.
Known by his nickname ‘Jumping’ Jack’ and considered a deadly scorer especially under the basket, Chua played in Asia’s pioneering pro league from 1975 to 81 and suited up for Seven Up, Filmanbank, and Great Taste.
The 6-foot Chua played in 183 games and had career average of 12.1 points.
Glenn Capacio, team captain and UAAP MVP when Chua steered the Far Eastern University Tamaraws to the men’s basketball championship opposite Joe Lipa, Ronnie Magsanoc, and the UP Fighting Maroons, vividly remembered the confidence given him by his late mentor.
See: Santillan bears lessons from defensive whiz Capacio as he heads to PBA
“He was a good motivator, father, brother to us, at napaka-masayahing tao,” said the 58-year-old Capacio, who’s now a coach himself.
“Natatandaan ko pa at fresh pa sa mind ko yung sinabi niya sa akin during those dying minutes of the championship game vs. UP. Sabi niya sa akin, ‘Glenn, bahala ka na. Kaya mo yan.’
“Kaya naman sobra ang focus ko at lumakas ang loob ko to finish the game on a high note.”
Capacio finished with a game-high 26 points in the title-clinching 92-91 win for the Tamaraws’ 13th UAAP championship.
“Pakiramdam ko nung time na 'yun, kahit anong isipin at gawin ko kaya ko dahil sa sinabi niyang yun sa akin,” Capacio recalled. “And being the captain and leader, ayokong i-down si coach at tsaka mga teammates ko.”
Other than being a winning coach, Chua was also a great player.
Chua was part of the Filmanbank team that finished runner-up behind Toyota during the 1978 All-Filipino finals. The Tamaraws won the title series, 3-1, that saw Chua score a game-high 43 points in the Game 2 loss, 168-148.
That same season, he was named Most Improved Player, or five years before the league finally institutionalized the award.
Among Chua’s noted teammates with Filmanbank back then included the late Larry Mumar, Adriano ‘Jun’ Papa, Jimmy Mariano, Jaime Otazu, Angelito ‘Amang’ Ladores, Orly ‘Botchok’ delos Santos, and high-scoring import Billy Robinson.
After his pro career, Chua turned to coaching and went back to his alma mater Far Eastern University.
Two months ago, Chua was confined at the Chinese General Hospital due to pneumonia and was diagnosed with a lump at the back of his heart.
He turned 73 last Sept. 9.
Messages of condolences poured out for the Chua family, most notably from his former players led by Capacio and other contemporaries like Bernie Fabiosa, JB Yango, Marlowe Jacutin, Ramon Cruz, Gil Cortez, Rudy Lalota, Tito Varela, Rene Canent, Renato ‘Etok’ Lobo, and other PBA players such as Allan Caidic, Max Delantes, Aaron Torres, Elmer Reyes, Noni Robles, Jerry Codinera, Ronald Magtulis, among others.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial also sent his condolences to the family of the bereaved.
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