Ex-PBA import dies a legend

MANILA, Philippines - Basketball star Rob Williams died of congestive heart failure at the Hermann Memorial City Medical Center in Katy, Texas, last Monday afternoon and will always be remembered not only for his three-year career at the University of Houston but also for his two-conference stop in the PBA where he averaged 44 points with Tanduay in 1986.

Williams passed away at 52. It didn’t seem like the 6-2 sharpshooting guard would survive a massive stroke in 1998 but managed to hold on despite loss of sight in the left eye, paralysis on the left side of his body and a flattened skull reinforced by a metal plate. Williams never knew he had a blood pressure condition until he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital for surgery to remove a clot in the brain.

In 2005, Williams confessed to a life of drugs, alcohol and women. He admitted trying out marijuana in junior high school and it led to a cocaine habit that became “a fight for life.” Williams said what started out to be a “temporary thing” evolved into a “necessity” that destroyed his self-esteem and drove him to the pit of despair. With fiancée Jacqueline Harris and a daughter Alexia, now 19, by his side, Williams straightened himself out and found guidance in the Christian teachings of Pastor C. L. Jackson of the Pleasant Grove Ministry Baptist Church.

Unable to play the game that he loved because of his stroke, Williams focused on assisting mentally-challenged adults in a care facility called Ultimate Adult PHP until his death. It was a remarkable transformation even as his brother Ed said there was a lot of hurt and pain in his life. “There is consolation in knowing that he is in a real peaceful place,” said Ed. “There is no suffering now. I know he’s with God.”

Williams led Tanduay to the PBA Reinforced Conference crown in 1986 with Andre McCoy in a tournament that allowed each team to employ two imports with a height limit of 6-3. He returned to play for the RhumMasters in the Open Conference that same season. His original import teammate Benny Anders was replaced by Andy Thompson, now the NBA vice president for production. The Open Conference allowed each team to recruit one import with a height limit of 6-6 and the other 6-3. In two conferences, Williams poured in 1,863 points in 42 games – more than the 1,838 points he compiled in three years at the University of Houston where he is the fifth leading all-time scorer. Williams shot 215 triples, 320 free throws and 449 two-point field goals with Tanduay. He notched a single-game high of 64 points, including seven triples, in the PBA.