Manuel Paner (born May 17, 1949), better known as Manny Paner, is a Filipino retired professional basketball player.

Player profile

Paner was born in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. During his prime, he was known for his strong rebounding, defense and deadly hook shot. At a mere 6'2", he would play center and sometimes defend the opposing team's American imports. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Paner played for the San Miguel Braves in the

MICAA The Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) was a sports association which existed in Manila, Philippines from 1938 to 1981. Throughout its existence, it staged various sports and was participated by prominent Philippine c ...

, along with other Cebuano cagers Rosalio Martirez and Alejandrito Miego, to a name of few. During the PBA's inaugural season in 1975, he was the center in the league's first Mythical Team, and in 1978, he left Royal Tru-Orange to sign with Great Taste what was then the league's biggest contract that paid him a whopping Php8,000 a month. He later played briefly for CDCP Road Builders, and in 1982, he was signed back to San Miguel where he ended his career in 1986. In 2000, he was named a member of the PBA's 25 Greatest Players, and was inducted into the

PBA Hall of Fame The Philippine Basketball Association Hall of Fame is an institution that honors selected former players and personalities of the Philippine Basketball Association. It was launched on May 29, 2005, during the Reunion Game pitting two teams consis ...

in 2007.

International career

In 1972, Paner appeared at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

in Munich, Germany as a member of the country's national basketball team.

Personal life

Paner is married to former actress

Daisy Romualdez Daisy Romualdez (born Margarita Gómez) is a Hispanofilipino actress and producer. She is sister of Blanca Gómez. She is married to well known former basketball player Manny Paner. She has two adopted daughters, Danita Paner, now a rock d ...

. The couple have two adopted daughters, Kristina and Danita.

References

Living people Basketball players from Cebu City 1949 births Olympic basketball players for the Philippines Basketball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players 1974 FIBA World Championship players Power forwards Centers (basketball) San Miguel Beermen players Great Taste Coffee Makers players Cebuano people UV Green Lancers basketball players 20th-century Filipino sportsmen {{Philippines-basketball-bio-stub