Two-time Olympian, pioneering PBA guard Boy Marquez passes away

MANILA, Philippines — Alfonso “Boy” Marquez, a two-time Olympian and one of the first players to see action when the PBA was founded in 1975, passed away Wednesday.

He was 82.

Marquez, a 6-1 shooting guard and a defensive dynamo, was 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 also a member of the gold medal-winning squad in the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta and the very first staging of the FIBA Asia Championship, which was then called the Asian Basketball Championship, in 1960 in Manila.

When the PBA was founded in 1975, he suited up for Mariwasa in the league’s first two seasons before finally hanging up his jersey.

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