Lim Eng Beng: King Archer, PBA great, 64

MANILA, Philippines – Four days before Christmas, La Salle great and PBA Hall of Famer Lim Eng Beng lost his three-year battle with liver cancer, passing on at 64.

Lim, among the PBA’s 40 greatest players with a colorful career from 1975 to 1986 with six teams, passed away at St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City yesterday morning.

A great athlete and gentleman on and off the court, Lim’s passing drew outpouring of support and sympathies for his family.

La Sallians hailed him as “King Archer” while PBA contemporaries and fans saluted him as among the best of his time and of all time.

Along with Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc and Bobby Parks, Lim was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2013.

Last year, he had his last appearance in a PBA affair, showing up in the gathering of the 40 PBA Greatest Players during the celebration of the league’s 40th anniversary.

He’s best remembered in his PBA stint in 1978 when he, along with Bogs Adornado and import Glenn McDonald, led U-Tex in an epic title conquest of Toyota.

Later, his U-Tex coach Tommy Manotoc brought him over to the fabled Crispa Remanizers team. He also donned the jerseys of Concepcion-Carrier, San Miguel Beer, Shell Azodrin and Manila Beer.

He carved a niche in Philippine basketball back from his collegiate days with La Salle.

The stocky 5-foot-11 guard played four years with the Green Archers, leading the team to the NCAA championship as a rookie in 1971.

In 1974, he further cemented his status as hotshot as he averaged a whopping 32 points a game, set a single game record of 55 points and subsequently bagged the MVP award.

His jersey number (#14) was retired and he was later inducted into the DLSAA Sports Hall of Fame.