Above all, Decena loved the game with a passion. When his left knee crumbled and retirement was imminent, Decena turned to coaching. He even became a referee in high school tournaments. In his twilight years, Decena continued to stay close to basketball, working out of an organization called Rings which was dedicated to produce athletes as Christian gentlemen.
Decena left his imprint in the record books as a London Olympian in 1948. The six-foot guard was 22 and a college sophomore when he joined Ramoncito Campos, Lauro Mumar, Francisco Vestil, Andy de la Cruz, Ding Fulgencio, Manolet Araneta, Pocholo Martinez, and the Fajardo brothers on the Olympic team. There were 23 countries that saw action in basketball that year and the Philippines finished 12th.
In 1947, Decena was the MVP of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as he led La Salle to the championship. Dionisio (Chito) Calvo was the Archers’ coach and among Decena’s teammates were skipper Tito Eduque, Carlo Inigo, Jess Pimentel, Eddie Sharuff, Jose Mari Mendieta, and Alfred Ysrael.
In the title game against Mapua, Decena hit two free throws to force overtime and La Salle held on to win, 38-34. La Salle’s campus newspaper came out with a two-page extra celebrating the victory and lauded "Long Tom" Decena for saving the day.
It was a hard climb to the top for Decena who started school at the late age of seven because he was sickly as a boy. In 1937, he got hooked to basketball and two years later, played for his La Salle class team in the intramurals. Intramurals coach Adi Manzano took a special interest in Decena and spent a lot of hours teaching him the finer points of the game.
Decena later tried out for the La Salle high school team but wasn’t taken. He tried once more and finally, made it as a benchwarmer in 1941. When the war broke out, Decena joined Ramsay’s Guerillas as a staff sergeant. He began to take basketball seriously after the war in 1945 and the hard work in the gym eventually paid off. Decena found his way to the Archers nook in 1947 and the rest is history.
Unfortunately, Decena didn’t enjoy a long basketball career. He suffered a knee injury during a La Salle exhibition against the visiting Oakland Bittners at the Rizal Coliseum shortly after the London Olympics in 1948 and never recovered from it. The Bittners’ Don Barksdale hit Decena’s knee in a rebounding skirmish and that abruptly ended "Long Tom’s" basketball odyssey.
Decena worked as a payments control head in the treasury department of San Miguel Corp. until he retired.
Last Nov. 1, Decena passed away at the Makati Medical Center. He was buried at the North Cemetery last Tuesday. His wife Nena Aragon, whom he met in 1945, had died years before. They are survived by their children Louie, Maritess, Tiny, Chit, and Tryll.
Louie and I were classmates at La Salle. Like his father, Louie was a classy basketball player.
Decena was an unassuming, decent man. Former Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Col. Julian Malonso, who provided the data for this column, said he was an outstanding athlete and role model. "Long Tom" Decena will forever be remembered as an Olympian, a La Salle campus hero, and a Christian gentleman.