FOUR-time PBA MVP Alvin Patrimonio vividly remembered with fondness the late Ginebra big man Anthony 'Toby' Poblador.
And like everyone else, Toby’s imposing height was the first thing the now Magnolia team manager noticed on him.
Poblador stood 6-foot-6, a height of rarity back then in the 80s.
“Ang tangkad. Sabi nga nila height is might,” said Patrimonio, recalling to Spin.ph the first time he met and saw the former Ginebra and Shell player in person.
“Nagta-tryout ako sa La Salle I think 1982 or 83, sila na yung mga players nun.”
Poblador was recently given a final buzzer by the PBA after passing away last October 15 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey following a bout with the Big C.
He was 61.
Patrimonio witnessed the brief tribute given by the league to Poblador, the no. 3 overall pick by Ginebra in the 1988 rookie draft behind Jack Tanuan and Ronnie Magsanoc.
But Poblador didn’t play right away for playing-coach Robert Jaworski until the 1991 season.
Toby finished his studies first at De La Salle, where he graduated in marketing and management.
He was originally with Ateneo De Davao, but was recruited for La Salle by Billy Leonor, a friend of the late ambassador and basketball patron Eduardo ‘Danding’ Cojuangco.
At La Salle, he was eventually named as part of the training pool of Northern Consolidated Corp. under American coach Ron Jacobs.
He also played for Purefoods in the old Philippine Amateur Basketball League before moving up to the pros when he was finally through with his studies.
Patrimonio and Poblador would cross paths at the height of the heated Purefoods-Ginebra rivalry, although seldom were they matched up with each other.
“Magka-iba kasi kami ng position so hindi kami talaga madalas mag-bantayan,” said one of the PBA’s 50 Greatest Players of all time, noting it was his frontline partner Jerry Codinera and Poblador who mostly guard each other.
“Pero siyempre parating challenge kasi matangkad. Kaya double effort ka talaga,” added Patrimonio, who will become a senior citizen on Nov. 15.
Poblador won a championship with Ginebra in his rookie season as part of the team that came back from a 1-3 deficit to nip Shell in the 1991 First Conference.
Ironically, Toby also played for Shell until retiring in 1993 and migrated to the US.
He became a New York financial advisor and a public adjuster and Medicare advocate.
In three seasons in the PBA, Poblador played in just 25 games with Ginebra and Shell and averaged 3.6 points per game.
“Saglit lang talaga kami nagkalaro, but nandun yung respect and friendship na one time nagkasama kami sa PBA,” said Patrimonio.
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