PBA legend Antero 'Terry' Saldana, a talented and ferocious scorer who led a troubled life after basketball, passed away on Wednesday due to a lingering kidney ailment
He was 64.
Commissioner Willie Marcial confirmed the sad news after talking to Saldana's former Toyota teammate Ed Cordero.
READ: Sad Saldana plight underlines need for PBA retirement fund, healthcare
The PBA will honor Saldana with a traditional final buzzer before the start of the NorthPort-Phoenix Governors’ Cup game on Thursday at the Philsports Arena.
The former Letran player first made an impression as a rookie at Toyota and battled back from a horror knee injury to enjoy a long career that included a memorable stop in a Gilbey's Gin team led by Sonny Jaworski.
He played until he was 42 with Red Bull in 2020 and his last association with basketball was an assistant-coach job for Wang's in the D-League in 2018.
However, he hit the news during the pandemic when a friend shared a photo on social media showing Saldana in a wheelchair, his feet swollen to twice their size, apparently because of gangrene.
Friends, including fellow PBA greats, came to his rescue.
READ: Five of the worst injuries in the PBA
But when healthy and at the peak of his playing career, the flexible forward was a force to be reckoned with, especially in the shaded lane.
Saldana played for Toyota in his rookie season, playing supporting role in a star-studded Tamaraws’ team.
But he eventually made a name for himself when he transferred to Gilbey’s Gin in 1983 shortly after Toyota disbanded.
He would become one of playing-coach Robert Jaworski’s inside operators, and was part of the first ever league championship of the franchise that later became known as Barangay Ginebra.
Injuries and issues surrounding his personal life led to him becoming a journeyman after his stay at Ginebra, suiting up for other teams like Alaska, the Swift franchise, Formula Shell, Gordon’s Gin, Batangas Blades in the MetropoIitan Basketball Association (MBA), and Batang Red Bull.
In those stints, he won two championships with Swift during the 1992 Third Conference and 1993 Commissioner’s Cup, respectively, and one in his reunion with Jaworski at Gordon's Gin in the 1997 Commissioner's Cup.
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