PBA great Manny Victorino quietly slipped into town for the holiday season, taking time from his busy schedule to drop by and reconnect with his PBA family.
The 6-foot-5 Victorino watched from ringside as Barangay Ginebra and NorthPort played in the Governors' Cup semifinals. He was given an ovation by the crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum when the league announcer acknowledged his presence.
“I’m here for the holiday season. Matagal na rin tayong hindi nakauwi,” said Victorino, who’s been based in New Jersey for almost a decade now.
Incidentally, he just turned 61 on Rizal Day.
Victorino, once considered one of the league’s top centers alongside Ramon Fernandez and Abet Guidaben, tried to meet Pido Jarencio at the NorthPort dugout, but never had the chance to talk with his former PBA player in the wake of the Batang Pier's 132-105 blowout loss at the hands of the Kings.
“Kakausapin ko sana si Pido, kaso hindi pa sila lumabas ng dugout,” he said. “Nagmamadali rin ako kasi may lakad pa ako noon.”
A product of Jose Rizal University, Victorino was an alternate member of the Philippine Youth team that competed in the 1979 World Youth Basketball Championships in Brazil.
He turned pro in 1981 and played for Great Taste.
A great post-up player with a reliable perimeter shot, Victorino became a vital cog in the Coffee Makers' run to four straight championships from 1984-85.
During that stretch, he was named Most Improved Player (1984) and was part of the Mythical First Team from 1984-1986.
A five-time All-Star, Victorino was part of a one-off league rule that disallowed Fernandez, Guidaben and him from playing for one team.
After his stint with Great Taste, the Mandaluyong native also had stints with Formula Shell, Ginebra, Purefoods, and Sunkist.
He returned to Great Taste in 1989 and helped the franchise win its last championship during the 1990 All-Filipino Finals despite injured franchise player Allan Caidic sitting out the deciding Game 7 against a star-studded Purefoods team.
Victorino’s last PBA title came in 1994 with Purefoods and retired in 1996 before having a brief comeback in the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) playing for Cagayan De Oro and Surigao.
In 15 PBA seasons, he averaged 13.2 points in 727 games.
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