Reynaldo "Rey" Cuenco (March 17, 1960 – August 15, 1996) was a Filipino former professional basketball player in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

Career highlights

A native of

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarla ...

, Rey became part of the Masagana 99 team in the PABL. He was also a NCC player under coach Ron Jacobs, which participated in the PBA during the 1984 season. Cuenco was one of the most feared power forwards of his generation. He was a big man who was big enough to post up people but at the same time was quick enough to elude the raised hands poised to block him. He also had a decent range and was an efficient rebounder. He was taken first overall by the

Alaska Milkmen The Alaska Aces were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association since 1986 under the ownership of Alaska Milk Corporation (AMC) and the owner of 14 PBA championships, tied with the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and ...

, then the newest team in the PBA, in 1986 rookie draft. After his stint with the Milkmen, he spent two seasons with

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

, and was traded to

Añejo Añejo, Spanish for "aged", may refer to: Alcoholic drinks * Añejo, a type of rum * Añejo, a type of tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwes ...

for the rights of Romeo Dela Rosa in 1989. Under the tutelage of playing-coach

Robert Jaworski Robert Vincent Salazar Jaworski Sr. (; born March 8, 1946) is a Filipino former professional basketball player, head coach and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1998 to 2004. He played 23 seasons in the Philippine Bas ...

, he would enjoy superstar status and eventually become one of the best center/power forwards in the league.

Playing for the National Team

Cuenco was a member of the 1982 RP Youth Team that defeated China in the 1982 ABC Youth Championship gold medal match in Manila. He was also part of the all-pro squad that represented the Philippines in the

1990 Asian Games ) , Nations participating = 36 , Athletes participating = 6,122 , Events = 308 in 27 sports , Opening ceremony = 22 September 1990 , Closing ceremony = 7 October 1990 , Officially opened by = Yang Shangkun , Of ...

and won the silver medal.

Death

Cuenco died of a liver ailment in 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuenco, Rey 1960 births 1996 deaths Alaska Aces (PBA) players Asian Games medalists in basketball Asian Games silver medalists for the Philippines Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players at the 1990 Asian Games Centers (basketball) Deaths from cirrhosis Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Shell Turbo Chargers players TNT Tropang Giga players Alaska Aces (PBA) draft picks