The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has honored one of its best and most legendary players to ever grace Asia’s first professional basketball league.
The league paid tribute to the late Avelino “Samboy” Lim with the “final buzzer” during halftime of the San Miguel-Phoenix game, acknowledging his significant contribution to Philippine basketball.
Lim passed away on December 23, marking nine years since he suffered a cardiac arrest following an exhibition game.
PBA personalities choose to remember Lim for his greatness.
San Miguel’s Terrence Romeo told ABS-CBN News that his dad shared stories about the “Skywalker’s” basketball exploits.
“Grabe daw ‘yung hangtime. Tapos ‘yung change of direction n’ya. Sabi ko sayang, sana nagkaroon ako ng chance na mapanuod,” Romeo said.
Longtime PBA commentator Andy Jao mentioned that Lim did a lot to entertain basketball fans, noting that his daredevil style of play often resulted in numerous injuries.
“The reason why you get injuries is because of the style of play, eh. That’s why he’s called the Skywalker. Whenever he makes a shot or whatever, he has a more or less devil-may-care attitude when he plays because he wants to please the fans,” he said.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial, on his part, highlighted that Lim is best remembered for his positive attitude both on and off the court.
Marcial noted that this contrasted with Lim’s aggressive style of play.
“’Yung pursigidong manalo, ‘yung papano mag-practice. Dirediretso ‘yan eh. Kung ano practice nya, ‘yun din sa laro nya. ‘Yun nga sinasabi, ko go hard,” Marcial said.
