Two basketball greats and three champion coaches — all legendary in their own rights — are the latest batch to be feted with a Lifetime Achievement Award in the annual San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night on 29 January.
Cage icons Allan Caidic and the late Avelino “Samboy” Lim join basketball’s brilliant minds Dante Silverio, Joe Lipa, and Arturo Valenzona in being honored by the country’s sportswriting fraternity for their immense personal contributions in enriching Philippine basketball.
All four awardees along with Lim’s family, represented by his widow, Atty. Darlene Berberabe, and daughter, karate champion Jamie Lim, are expected to add nostalgia in the formal gathering at the grand ballroom of the Diamond Hotel as they recall their heydays while still playing and coaching the game.
Their recognition comes on the night the oldest media organization in the Philippines headed by its president Nelson Beltran, sports editor of The Philippine Star, salutes Gilas Pilipinas for ending 61 years of wait by winning the elusive basketball gold in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Gilas Pilipinas will be accorded with the President’s Award during the blue-ribbon event presented by the 24/7 sports app in the country ArenaPlus, and Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Cignal, MILO, and PLDT/Smart as major sponsors, while being backed by the Philippine Basketball Association, Premier Volleyball League, Rain or Shine, and 1-Pacman Partylist Rep. Mikee Romero.
Caidic, Lim, Lipa, Valenzona, and Silverio all had their separate time serving the national men’s team in the past.
Lim and Caidic formed part of Northern Consolidated Cement glorious basketball program, which won the 1985 Jones Cup and the 1985 FIBA Asia Championship during their time with the team.
Even after the NCC disbandment, they continued to represent the country in international tournaments including the 1986 Seoul Asian Games — the last time the country sent an all-amateur team to the continental showcase — and the 1990 Beijing Asiad — the first time the country sent all all-pro team to the same event.
The two close friends, among the country’s most decorated players of all time, went on to carve out colorful careers in the PBA.
Lim, a star player at Letran College and a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association champion, was among the NCC players who formed the core of the San Miguel squad that made a PBA comeback in 1986 after a brief leave of absence.
Known for his high-wire acts and knee-length socks, the man known as the “Skywalker” won nine championships as a pro, was a five-time All-Star, a part of the PBA’s Greatest 25 Players, and a Hall of Famer, who, unfortunately, never got to be a Most Valuable Player owing to an injury-prone career. He passed away last 23 December.
Caidic is considered one of the best shooters Philippine basketball ever produced.
A product of University of the East where he won three University Athletic Association of the Philippines championships, he was the top overall pick by Great Taste in the 1987 draft who would win his first PBA title three years later.
A former Rookie of the Year and 1990 MVP, he won five championships while donning the Great Taste and San Miguel Beer jerseys. An eight-time All-Star, six-time Mythical First Team, and five-time scoring champion, Caidic still holds the single game record high of 79 points and most three pointers made in a single game at 17 which he did during the 1991 Third Conference.
Like Lim, he is also one of the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players and Hall of Famer.
