Blast from the past: Julian A. Macoy (Basketball)

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu has minted countless hardcourt stars in the past. They maybe 'alien' to the younger generation, but their names surely ring a bell to the old ones. And definitely, they have left an idelible mark in the local sports community. One of them is the man they call Julian A. Macoy, one of the living legends in Cebu hoopdom.

The pride of Dumanjug south of Cebu is perhaps the only Filipino player to own a record for the most points scored in a single game. He breached the century mark on two occasions during his heydays as collegiate star of the University of San Carlos (USC) Green and Gold Warriors from 1955 to 1961.

Donning the USC jersey for two years in high school (1955-1957), the slender shooter has shown some potentials enough to convince former Warriors coach, the late Juan "Dodong" B. Aquino, Jr., to elevate him to collegiate ranks in 1957.

In his rookie year, Macoy unloaded 101 points in a game against Cebu Normal School (now Cebu Normal University). The following year, he carved another milestone that is still unsurpassed until today when he amassed 126 points in a game against the Cebu School of Arts and Trades (now Cebu Technological University).

Macoy thanked all his former teammates, then led by skipper and now Atty. Danilo Deen, for helping him achieve that spectacular feat. He is also forever grateful for the discipline inculcated to him by Aquino that molded him into a better person today.

Before his graduation in 1961, Macoy was among the top guns when the Warriors stormed into the Final Four of the 1960 National Inter-Collegiate Championships. He later became the first player outside Manila to be chosen into the Mythical Five along with Arturo Valenzona, Romeo Diaz and Pelagio Simon of Far Eastern University (FEU)

Tamaraws and Elias Tolentino of Jose Rizal College (now JRU) Heavy Bombers. 

Macoy's acumen in shooting hoops became his passport to the commercial league where he suited up for Yutivo AC for a decade (1961-1970).

A hip injury forced him to migrate in Chicago, Illinois where he worked for nearly 30 years in the US Postal Department in Oak Park. He retired in October of 2003, then finally return to his beloved hometown.

Not known to many, Macoy also had international stints both as a player and assistant coach. He was first named as alternate player of the Philippine Team that saw action in the 4th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1962.

After recuperating from injury he sustained in 1968, Macoy finally played his first official international game in 1969, forming part of the Fil-Chinese selection that won the championship in Pesta Sukan, Singapore.

In 2004 when he already returned to Cebu, Macoy was named as assistant to coach Joe Lipa in the Phl Youth (Under-20) squad. He then became the deputy commissioner of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) in 2005, a post he still hold at present.

For his stirring exploits, Macoy was among the first batch of honorees enshrined into the Cebu Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. - THE FREEMAN