[ad_1]
Olympic and PBA pioneer Orly Bauzon (November 17, 1944 – September 5, 2020) passed away on Saturday due to cardiac arrest.
He was 75 years old.
Two of his former colleagues in Mon Fernández and Gil Cortez paid tribute to him through their respective Facebook pages.
Fernández remembered Bauzon for his exploits during his time alongside the Toyota Comets, who won the 1973 MICAA title.
“Rest in peace, Kap Orly” opened his short post that comes along with a photo of an old game.
“If it weren’t for his last second shot in our semifinal game in our first MICAA tournament, we would not have made it to the championship series against Concepción Motorolas and we would not have won in the Cinderella finale.”
Born in Calasiao, Pangasinan, Bauzon was part of the Filipino team that played in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico.
He also played for the men’s team that captured the 1967 Asian Basketball Confederation title against Shin Dong-pa South Korea.
Bauzon was a part of numerous victorious national teams starting with the team that won a fourth consecutive gold at the 1962 Asian Games.
His impressive resume also includes championships at MICAA with Meralco Reddy Kilowatts and Toyota.
Bauzon continued to play for Toyota when the franchise moved to the PBA and he played in its inaugural season in 1975.
He played for three seasons with Toyota before going to Mariwasa Honda Wildcats, where he finally finished his career in 1978.
The former UST stalwart later ventured into coaching and managed college teams such as the University of the Philippines and Adamson University.
Bauzon led the Falcons – led by Kenneth Duremedes and Marlou Aquino – to the 55th Season Finals, but was swept by Johnny Abarrientos and FEU, 2-0.
He was married to Josie Bauzon, the first female commissioner of the PSC, who passed away in 2011.
