Abe King
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Abraham Columbus M. King, Jr. (born July 23, 1957) is a Filipino former
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player who was part of the champion
Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...
(PBA) ballclub
Toyota Tamaraws is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
. He was the starting center of 1976 MICAA champion Crown Motors before its PBA parent team, the Toyota Tamaraws, called upon his services at the start of the
1977 PBA season The 1977 PBA season was the third season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights *The league's third season started on April 17 and for the first time, three referees were called to officiate the games. The opening gam ...
. Despite being renowned for his defensive prowess, King had recorded a 60-point game.


PBA career

King was an instant starter for the Tamaraws as resident power forward when Alberto "Big Boy" Reynoso retired at the end of the 1976 season. King joined forces with
Ramon Fernandez Ramon Sadaya Fernandez (; born October 3, 1953) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and current commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission. Fernandez won four PBA Most Valuable Player awards and a record of 19 PBA ti ...
,
Robert Jaworski Robert Vincent Salazar Jaworski Sr. (; born March 8, 1946), also known by his nicknames Sonny, Big J, and Jawo (), is a Filipino former professional basketball player, head coach and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines fro ...
,
Francis Arnaiz Francis C. Arnaiz (born June 4, 1951) is a Filipino former basketball player. He is best known for his career in the PBA, playing for Toyota and Ginebra San Miguel from 1975 to 1986. Early basketball years Arnaiz had a love for sports and wou ...
and 1976 Rookie Of The Year Virgilio "Gil" Cortez in the starting unit of the Tamaraws (original starting forward Rodolfo "Ompong Segura suffered a knee injury during the 1976 season that allowed Cortez to blossom that season). King became a major force to reckon with, and almost won
ROY Roy or Roi is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origins. France In France, this family name originated from the Normans, the descendants of Norse Vikings who migrated to Amigny, a commune in Manche, Normandy.. The deriva ...
honors, barely losing to eventual winner and co-power forward Jimmy Taguines of Yco-Tanduay in a tight race. King's accomplishments, though, were somewhat diminished by the performance of his more accomplished teammates. The year after he joined the league, Jaworski ruled the roost by averaging close to triple-double the entire season en route to the MVP award. In 1979, Fernandez narrowly lost out to Fortunato "Atoy" Co, Jr. in a tight MVP race that was decided by the media votes. Fernandez, though, proved that he was the best player of the season as he powered the Tamaraws to a runner-up and
championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
finish in the succeeding two
conferences A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...
. Co won the MVP title after the 1st Conference—one of the quirks of the PBA rules back then – and since Crispa won the title, the Fortune Cookie, despite ending up second to Fernandez in the stats race in the AFC, romped away with the honors. 1982 was considered as King's best year with Toyota. The same year when Jaworski was riding the bench because of an assortment of injuries, it was the quartet of Fernandez, Arnaiz, and 1979 ROY Arnie Tuadles and King, who starred in Toyota's two championships that season —the same year when Fernandez finally nailed his first of four MVP plums, with King being named to the season's Mythical Five. What made King's accomplishments impressive was that he did this on the other side of the game —his defence. While every player was getting recognition for their offence, King did so on defense , a skill further enhanced by his coach,
Edgardo Ocampo Edgardo Luciano Ocampo (October 5, 1938 – July 29, 1992) was a Filipino basketball player and coach. Early life and education Ocampo was born in Pampanga, Philippines, on October 5 1938. He was one of four children of architects Fernando ...
 – acknowledged as the 1960s best two-way player. King was the nemesis not only of the best local players around, but he also took it upon himself to defend against the best imports.
Norman Black Norman Augustus Black (born November 12, 1957) is the current Consultant to the San Beda University Red Lions Basketball team playing in the NCAA Philippines. He is a former professional basketball player who played in the CBA, NBA, and PBA. ...
, Lew Massey, Lew Brown, and
Clarence Kea Clarence Leroy Kea (born February 2, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a power forward. High school Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, Kea attended New Hanover High School, in Wilmington, North Carolina, wher ...
, among others, were surprised at how a bulky local player could actually hold his own against them. Black intimated once in an interview that King was "the best local defender, whoever guarded him."
Alvin Patrimonio Alvin Dale Vergara Patrimonio (born November 17, 1966) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player from the Philippine Basketball Association and is the current team manager for the Magnolia Hotshots. Patrimonio holds several PBA r ...
, during his peak in the early 1990s, badly wanted an ageing king to be part of Purefoods simply because he feared having a king on the other side of the court defending him. Finally, a PBA player was recognized for his ability to defend players and King became the yardstick of what defenders should be in the coming years.


Out of the shadows of Jaworski and Fernandez

When Toyota disbanded prior to the start of the 1984 season, there was much outcry regarding the transfer of the players to Beer Hausen, the team that bought the Silverio franchise. Jaworski and Arnaiz eventually went to
Ginebra San Miguel Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (; GSMI), formerly La Tondeña Distillers, Inc., is a Philippines-based diversified beverage company majority-owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. History La Tondeña was established in 1902 by Carlos T. Pal ...
while King became the first "franchise player" in the history of the league when he signed up with Beer Hausen's corporate rival Gold Eagle Beer. King latched upon the deal with Gold Eagle Beer prior to the disbandment of Toyota, which excluded him in that "lock, stock and barrel" purchase by Basic Holdings of Toyota's franchise. However, since King wasn't a noted scorer, he needed players who could take over the offensive chores, as he took it upon himself to lead the Gold Eagle team on the defensive end. Alas, since he had average players for teammates in a young Joey Loyzaga, a raw Rudy Distrito, an oft-injured Marte Saldaña, a defensive stalwart in
Dante Gonzalgo Genaro "Dante" Gonzalgo (born July 8, 1958) is a Filipino former basketball player. He was nicknamed "Bicol Express", and "Iron Man". Playing career Amateur Gonzalgo played for Crispa 400 from 1980 to 1981 in MICAA. Professional Gonzal ...
, and two veterans who never made it big despite their promise at the start –
Renato Lobo Renato is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Latin name Renatus. Notable people with the name used mononymously include: * Renato Mirze (born 1982), International brand chef, TV presenter * San Renato, a saint of the Catholic Church ...
and Anthony Dasalla, Gold Eagle struggled big time. And since
San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...
(the mother company of Gold Eagle) was focusing its resources more on the PBL and the
NCC NCC may refer to: Biology *Neural correlates of consciousness, neuronal events and mechanisms relating to perception phenomena *Sodium-chloride symporter, abbreviated as NCC Companies * National Certification Corporation, a nursing specialty ce ...
team, Gold Eagle couldn't get the players they wanted to be competitive against the likes of Great Taste Coffee, Beer Hausen and Tanduay Rhum. Eventually, King moved to Great Taste in the succeeding year with no less than team manager Ignacio Gotao spearheading this transfer. King paradoxically found himself in unfamiliar company with past Crispa rivals Co,
Bernie Fabiosa Bernie Fabiosa (born July 23, 1954) is a retired Filipino professional basketball player and actor. He spent most of his playing days with the Crispa Redmanizers in the PBA. During his heyday, he is tops in career steals, earning for himself t ...
and
Philip Cezar Philip Dudley Cezar (born December 1, 1952) is a Filipino former basketball coach, player and politician. Known by the monikers "Mr. Stretch", "''Tapal'' King" and "The Scholar", he was part of the fabled Crispa Redmanizers ballclub of the Phi ...
plus super rookie
Allan Caidic Allan Vito Flores Caidic (born June 15, 1963) is a Filipino former professional basketball player, coach and executive who is currently serving as consultant for San Sebastian Stags. He is considered by many to be the greatest shooter the cou ...
but found the responsibilities at Great Taste lighter than when he was with Gold Eagle. He, along with Cezar, became the team's leaders as they were recognized by their peers and the younger players for their veteran smarts and skills. Ranged against the likes of Alaska's Bruise Brothers
Ricky Relosa Ricardo Relosa (born March 16, 1960), is a retired Filipino professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association, where he played both center and forward positions. After a brief amateur career where he became part of the first ...
and Yoyoy Villamin, the Cezar-King combo more than held their own against the rising and younger pair of Relosa and Villamin. King only had one contrapelo among the players during his time. Ironically, it turned out to be his own Toyota teammate, Fernandez, who knew King's moves extremely well. Ditto the other way, as King was also equally successful in guarding against Fernandez, although the latter had more success in their matchups. This wasn't really surprising, as King wasn't the only player who had Don Ramon as a contrapelo or scourge. The top centers and power forwards back then also suffered offensively when ranged against El Presidente – Gary Vargas, Rey Lazaro,
Abet Guidaben Alberto "Abet" Guidaben (born September 14, 1952) is a Filipino former professional basketball player in the PBA. He was part of the fabled Crispa Redmanizers ballclub that won two Grand Slams, in 1976 and 1983. He was a two-time PBA Most Va ...
,
Terry Saldaña Antero Saldaña (November 17, 1958 – February 1, 2023) was a Filipino professional basketball player who played his entire career in the Philippine Basketball Association. Player profile Coming straight from the MICAA, Saldaña was signed t ...
, Manny Victorino and
Dondon Ampalayo Cresencio "Dondon" Ampalayo (born April 18, 1963 in Cebu City, Philippines) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional ...
feared Fernandez like a plague. King, though, wasn't far behind in the intimidation factor as he was also the scourge of many slotmen.


Twilight

However, an ageing King suddenly found no takers during the early 1990s.
Patrimonio Patrimonio (; ; , ) is a commune in the French department of Upper Corsica, collectivity and island of Corsica. The inhabitants are known as ''patrimoniens'' and ''patrimoniennes'' in French, ''patrimuninchi'' (singular: ''patrimunincu'', ''p ...
heard of King's interest in joining Tondeña and pleaded with Purefoods management to get King "at all costs." Purefoods relented and signed up King for a one-season contract with the Hotdogs where he played a major role as the defensive player assigned to guard the imports of the other teams. From a one-season
stint A stint is one of several very small waders in the paraphyletic ''"Calidris"'' assemblage – often separated in ''Erolia'' – which in North America are known as peeps. They are Scolopacidae, scolopacid waders much similar in ecomor ...
with Purefoods, King's contract with the team was extended to another year. He won his last two PBA championships with the Hotdogs. King faded from the limelight in the mid-1990s and decided to move to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. He was the president of the PBA Legends Foundation USA.In huddle
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Abe Living people Filipino men's basketball players Filipino emigrants to the United States San Beda Red Lions basketball players Magnolia Hotshots players Power forwards Toyota Super Corollas players San Miguel Beermen players Great Taste Coffee Makers players 1957 births 20th-century Filipino sportsmen