Jorge makes final shot
He was very passionate
Former national team coach Nic Jorge passed away Saturday due to cardiac arrest. He was 78.
He is survived wife Marilyn and children Nick, Veronica, Victor and Monica as well as grandsons Niccolo and Enzo.
Jorge is considered as a giant in Philippine basketball for his countless contributions.
He served as the youngest mentor of University of the Philippines men’s basketball team at 21 years old and the men’s national squad that saw action in the FIBA World Cup in 1978.
He called the shots for the Manhattan Shirtmakers, San Miguel Beer and Sunkist Juice Lovers in the early years of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) before serving as secretary general of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP).
But his greatest contribution was in the grassroots when he founded the Basketball Efficiency and Scientific Training (BEST) Center, the first basketball academy that launched the careers of some of the country’s greatest basketball players.
Among those who cut their teeth under Jorge’s tutelage at BEST Center are PBA greats Benjie Paras, Jerry Codiñera, Boybits Victoria, Jun Limpot, Rey Evangelista, Patrick Fran, Paolo Mendoza, Chris Tiu, Joseph Yeo Larry Fonacier and Keifer Ravena.
Aside from that, he also did not discriminate and trained players in the women’s division. “He was very passionate. Even in tournaments, he decided to remove the tournament fees so that teams from public schools can join the regional and national competitions,” Marilyn said.
“With that, he was able to discover a lot of talents. He took care of everyone, even those players who couldn’t afford to train.” Unknown to many, Jorge was one of the silent workers behind the “basketball superbody” that led to the creation of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP). Together with former PBA commissioner Jun Bernardino and former Asian Basketball Confederation secretary general Mauricio Martelino, Jorge convinced industrialist Manny Pangilinan to helm the country’s basketball program that eventually led to a return flight to the FIBA World Championship in 2014 and FIBA World Cup in 2019.