'The captain' TAKES HELM IN 80s, 90s

MANILA, Philippines - A collection of four PBA MVP titles and the same number of stints with the national team to the Asian Games easily underscore the fact that Alvin Patrimonio is the face of Philippine basketball in his era.

From a child who played against imaginary opponents in their backyard, Patrimonio became heir apparent to Ramon Fernandez as basketball icon in the pro league, being the superstar of the Purefoods franchise from the late 80s to the 90s.

The 6-foot-3 forward certainly had the skills and talent honed up as a Mapua Cardinal in collegiate basketball.

With bull-strong post moves, a velvety shooting touch plus toughness on defense, little wonder Patrimonio churned out a storied pro career that will be remembered for a long time.

He broke into the league’s Mythical Five right in his second year after joining the PBA in midstream in 1988. And he became a fixture in that group, missing the selection just twice (1995 and 1999) from 1989-2000.

He was so talented that he won the coveted MVP plums four times in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997, a feat achieved only by multi-titled Fernandez, who interestingly was Patrimonio’s idol and teammate at one time.

The charismatic Patrimonio still owns the most number of All-Star Game appearances with 12, winning the All-Star Game MVP award once in 1991.

During the PBA’s silver anniversary celebration in 1999, Patrimonio and Fernandez (the league MVP in 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1988) led the list of the 25 greatest players feted by the league.

Patrimonio lent services to the country by playing in several international competitions, including the Asian Games in Seoul in 1986, Beijing in 1990, Hiroshima in 1994 and Bangkok in 1998.

“For all the blessings I’d got playing the game, one that I cherish most was playing for the national team with my idols Robert Jaworski and Mon Fernandez,” said Patrimonio.

For all his achievements, Patrimonio knew when to call it quits.

He was good for a few more perimeter jumpers. His experience and gung-ho spirit still mattered in the clutch. But when his streak of consecutive games played was snapped at a record 596, Patrimonio knew he had reached the end of his career.

A day before celebrating his 38th birthday in 2004, he decided it’s time to hang his sneakers.

“The Captain” ended his career as one of only three players to accumulate more than 15,000 points.