Marquez, 82

MANILA, Philippines — Alfonso “Boy” Marquez, a two-time Olympian who was among the players to see action when the PBA opened shop in 1975, passed away last Wednesday.

He was 82.

Marquez, a 6-1 shooting guard and a defensive dynamo, will be best remembered for being part of the national team that saw action in the 1960 Rome and 1968 Mexico Olympics as well as the 1959 World Cup in Chile.

He was a member of the gold-medal-winning squad in the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta and the first staging of the FIBA-Asia Championship, then called the Asian Basketball Championship, in 1960 in Manila.

Marquez suited up for Mariwasa in the PBA’s first two seasons before finally hanging up his jersey.

He was enshrined into the Philippine Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 to highlight what had been a glorious career.