THROUGH sheer determination and hard work, Marc Pingris rose from humble beginnings to put together a glorious 16-year professional basketball career.
The Pozorrubio, Pangasinan native will go down as one of the noble stars of Philippine basketball, delivering championships at club level and helping get the country back to world basketball map with his exploits for Gilas Pilipinas.
SPIN.ph looks back on some of the top moments of the Pinoy Sakuragi's career.
SEA Games gold caps amateur career
Before his PBA career, Pingris brought honor to the country by helping the national team capture the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam - a star turn for a product of a lesser-known college basketball program at Philippine School of Business Administration. Pingris also took home numerous championships for Welcoat in the Philippine Basketball League.
PBA Finals MVP award in 2013

Over the course of his career, Pingris captured two Finals MVPs, but the 2013 Governors’ Cup was perhaps the most special. Forced to a Game Seven, San Mig Coffee edged Petron, 87-77, with Pingris tallying 19 points and 17 rebounds. That title paved the way for a grand slam the following year for Pingris and the franchise.
Induction into the 40 Greatest Players list
It was in the middle of his career when Pingris became part of the PBA’s 40 Greatest Players in history. He was one of the 15 additional names included in the legends’ list along with Asi Taulava, Eric Menk, Kelly Williams, Jayjay Helterbrand, Jimmy Alapag, Mark Caguioa, Arwind Santos, Jayson Castro, Kerby Raymundo, Chito Loyzaga, and Marlou Aquino.

San Mig's 2014 grand slam
Indicating this 2014 accomplishment in his retirement post on Instagram says a lot on how this feat means to the nine-time PBA champion. Pingris became part of history after San Mig Coffee, under the tutelage of Tim Cone, claimed the grand slam, the fifth and, at the moment, final time such feat was recorded.

Putback seals Gilas win over Korea in 2013
There were a lot of moments during Gilas’ magical run in the 2013 Fiba Asia Championship where the Philippines placed second in front of the whole country. One of the most memorable perhaps to fans involved Pingris, whose putback off a miss by Jayson Castro became the final field goal of Gilas’ 86-79 win over Korea behind a raucous crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena. The win earned the Philippines a berth in the 2014 Fiba World Cup in Spain.
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