The PBA’s former Ironman is human, after all.
Alvin Patrimonio, the PBA’s four-time MVP who was labelled as Captain Lionheart for his fierce attitude inside the court and Ironman for his record of consecutive games played, has been brought to his knees by a nagging ailment.
Gout flares.
In a chat with SPIN.ph, Patrimonio’s daughter Christine revealed how his dad struggled the first time he had to deal with painful attacks that are normally caused by the high level of uric acid in his blood stream, during the pandemic.
“Nag-start yun nung lockdown, dun nya naramdaman yung gout," said the former tennis star, who along with dad Alvin and mom Cindy graced the painting exhibit of Maestro Abayan at the Alitaptap Artists Village in Amadeo, Cavite.

Patrimonio is now back to his playing weight of 220 lbs. more than 16 years since his retirement, but only because he was forced to go on a diet of mostly vegetables and Korean noodles to avoid another painful attack.
"So ang dami nyang diet na kailangang gawin, medyo mahirap for him kasi super pili lang ang pagkain, kaunting steak lang nagfe-flare up yung gout nya,” said Tintin.
Patrimonio, 54, played through all sorts of injuries during a streak of 596 games played that made him the pro league's Ironman until Ginebra star LA Tenorio broke his record in March of last year.
But gout has subdued 'Lolo Cap,' Tintin bared.
“Gout has totally changed it. Hindi ako sanay nakikita siya na may gout like everyday nagwo-work out siya at tumatakbo, now kaunti na lang kilos nya, iika-ika pa," said Tintin.
In a legenday PBA career highlighted by four MVP seasons, Patrimonio only missed two games due to a calf muscle strain in 1989. Now it's not uncommon to see 'Cap' walking with a limp, prompting Tintin to rib him with his 'Lolo moves.'
“He’s totally different, ang dami nagtatanong sa'kin pag nakita yung dad ko, “May sakit ba daddy mo? Bakit ampayat nya.' But he’s now on a strict diet, disiplinado pa rin siya”, said Patrimonio.
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