Remembering Boybits Victoria: A PBA Legend
The Philippine basketball community mourns the loss of a legend as Boybits Victoria, a former PBA player, passed away on March 1, 2023, due to a heart attack. He was 50 years old.
Victoria's son Nathan confirmed the news on social media after reports that his father underwent angioplasty recently. In a Facebook post, Victoria's children said their father suffered an acute myocardial infarction and was pronounced dead at 6:55 pm at San Juan De Dios Manila.
Born on March 28, 1972, Victoria was a basketball standout in his youth, playing for San Beda College in the NCAA. He was selected third overall by Swift in the 1994 PBA Rookie Draft and took the top freshman honor over Purefoods' Rey Evangelista by the end of the season.
Victoria's PBA career was a successful one, as he won seven championships with two different teams, the Sunkist Orange Juicers and the San Miguel Beermen. He was also a key member of the Sunkist team that won the All-Filipino and Commissioner's Cup titles in 1995.
After three seasons with Sunkist, Victoria moved to San Miguel in 1999 as a backup point guard to Olsen Racela. He played an important role as the Beermen won five championships from 1999 to 2001.
Aside from being a great player, Victoria was also known for his humility and unselfishness. His former coach, Jong Uichico, tweeted his condolences and remembered Victoria as an "incredible sixth man" for the Beermen.
Victoria was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder in 2018, but his condition eventually improved after spending weeks in the hospital. Despite his health struggles, he remained an active member of the basketball community, coaching and mentoring young players.
The loss of Boybits Victoria is a great loss to Philippine basketball. His legacy as a player and a person will always be remembered and cherished by his family, friends, and fans.
No comments:
Comments on GameOPS are moderated. Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry.
If you don't have a Google, LiveJournal, Wordpress, AIM, Typepad or OpenID account, please choose NAME/URL when posting a commment. Anonymous comments will be rejected.