A poem for Lim Eng Beng

Thomas (Magoo) Dy, a La Salle varsity basketball player from 1976 to 1978, sent the other day a unique tribute to the late Green Archer legend Lim Eng Beng by email. He wrote a poem! Magoo has lived in the US for over 30 years and is based in Southern California. He never played alongside Beng at La Salle because their seasons didn’t cross. But Magoo said Beng was his forever hero.

Magoo’s La Salle teammates included Titong Sagarbarria, Jun Rastrullo, Pons Balcells, Henry Brodett, Billy Johnston, Joel Uichico, Alex Marquez, Kenneth Yap, Elmo Tong, Jay Lucido, Roy Connolly and Aldo Perez, among others.

“I knew Beng on a casual basis,” said Magoo. “He played with some of my teammates and would attend some games and dinners after his playing days. On a couple of occasions, I played with him and against him at La Salle when he would either practice or join some of the former La Salle players like the late Doy Escober, Miguel Bilbao and Joey Franco play against us. As a student, Beng to us was a sports hero. As an athlete, he was the standard of excellence. I had the privilege of playing under the likes of the late Tito Eduque, Margarito Barruel and Joaqui Trillo and I heard nothing but praises about the guy. His passion for the game, his penchant for listening and learning and his determination and will to win. In the words of coaches Eduque and Barruel, he was a coach’s dream player.”

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Magoo said his tribute poem is a “vignette” of his La Salle days, culled from “untold” stories by Johnston, a former teammate, and Jo Wong, the Archers statistician who played a major role in recruiting Beng from Chiang Kai Shek high school.

“I hope La Salle does not forget who he was, what he stood for and his contributions to sports on behalf of the university,” said Magoo. “I know Billy wants to organize a reunion of the 1971 and 1974 La Salle championship teams to honor Beng. Maybe, the university can take the initiative to remember Beng and other athletes who wore the Green and White. Similar to what colleges and universities do in their athletic programs in the US where they not only honor individuals but also teams and welcome them home to the fold. In my La Salle experience, there were two men who stood out in making our university what it is – the late Br. Gabriel Connon for his leadership in promoting academic excellence and the late Lim Eng Beng for bringing back the La Salle basketball program to its pinnacle and the ‘Beng Effect’ on subsequent La Salle teams.”

Here is Magoo’s poem:

“His name was Lim Eng Beng,

His shot would sting,

He would flash a smile

That would make his opponents cry.

He came by way of Chiang Kai Shek

And spent some time in China – the Bank

Where his shots were called money

By the time he was out of the armory.

As he made his way to De La Salle,

He played with no alibis,

He just asked for a way to school,

No problem, Jo Wong provided the car pool.

He just wanted to win,

No more, no less,

When he asked for the ball

We all felt blessed.

For the shots kept raining

From the east of the sun

To the west of the moon,

His eyes were deadlier

Than those of the Eagles,

Did that feel so good

C’est si bon?

Just like in Paris,

Beng was an artist

Though the Chinese called him ‘Enga,’

You better follow when he asked for the ‘bola.’

At the end, he brought two championships,

Smiles to our faces, glory to our college,

His number was retired

Forever to be remembered.

As he passed through this life,

Let us all pause and remember

How truly this humble and great person lived

So others may follow his lead.

For there will only be one Lim Eng Beng

And he was indeed the Be(ng)st.”

Beng will be honored in a tribute program now being organized by La Salle Advancement and Alumni Affairs executive director Edwin Reyes to be held at the Taft campus on Feb. 13. The Lasallian Pastoral Office, headed by director Andy Simeon, will take charge of the Holy Mass to start the event on a solemn note. Beng’s close friend Tony Atayde will play a key role in the program as an alumnus who stayed in close touch with the legend until his death last Dec. 21.