CEBU, Philippines — This Cebuano sports icon is without doubt one of the greatest Filipino basketball players of all time.
The deadliest pure shooter Cebu has ever produced in Philippine cagedom, Ernesto "Estoy" Estrada first honed his hoop skills while wearing the white and green jersey of the multi-titled University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers in the Cebu Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) now known as the CESAFI (Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc.).
Playing for the SMC/Royal Tru Orange team, the 5-foot-11 sharpshooter was the scoring champion of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) during its founding season in 1975. For that, he earned a spot to the elite Mythical Five together with Bogs Adornado, Atoy Co, Francis Arnaiz and fellow Cebuano star Manny Paner.
It's just one of his long list of shining credentials.
Estrada, who also suited up for Great Taste/Presto, Mariwasa-Honda, and Toyota where he won two championships in 1978, was the sixth player to reach the 5,000-point mark after Co, Arnaiz, Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez and Philip Cezar.
In 1982, he ended his seven-year pro stint with a career-high average of 19.7 points, third best in the PBA all-time list behind Ricky Brown (23.1) and Adornado (20.4). He normed 19.6 points per game in a total of 289 games played.
Interestingly, Estrada's stirring exploits came before the three-point shot was introduced.
Estrada died of heart attack four years ago in Los Angeles, California at the age of 65. (FREEMAN)