Samboy, Caidic lead Lifetime awardees
TWO cage greats and three champion coaches, all legendary in their own rights, are the latest batch to be feted with a Lifetime Achievement Award in the annual San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Awards Night on January 29.
Hoop icons Allan Caidic and the late Avelino “Samboy” Lim join basketball’s brilliant minds Dante Silverio, Joe Lipa and Arturo Valenzona in being honored by the country’s sportswriting fraternity for their immense personal contributions in enriching Philippine basketball.
All four awardees, along with Lim’s family, represented by his ex-wife Darlene Berberabe, and daughter, karate champion Jamie Lim, are expected to add nostalgia in the formal gathering at the grand ballroom of the Diamond Hotel as they recall their heydays while still playing and coaching the game.
Their recognition comes on the night the oldest media organization in the Philippines salutes Gilas Pilipinas for ending 61 years of waiting by winning the elusive basketball gold in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Gilas Pilipinas will be accorded with the President’s Award.
Caidic, Lim, Lipa, Valenzona and Silverio all had their separate time serving the national men’s team in the past.
Lim and Caidic formed part of NCC’s (Northern Consolidated Cement) glorious basketball program which won the 1985 Jones Cup and the 1985 FIBA Asia Championship during their time with the team. Even after the NCC disbandment, the two continued to represent the country in international tournaments including the 1986 Seoul Asian Games — the last time the country sent an all-amateur team to the continental showcase — and the 1990 Beijing Asiad — the first time the country sent all all-pro team to the same event.
The two close friends, among the country’s most decorated players of all time, went on to carve out colorful careers in the PBA.
Lim was a five-time All-Star, a part of the PBA’s Greatest 25 Players, and a Hall of Famer, who unfortunately, never got to be Most Valuable Player owing to an injury-prone career. He passed away last Dec. 23, 2023.
Like Lim, he is also one of the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players and Hall of Famer.