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Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Like father, like son

By: Gerry Ramos
People's Journal
October 17, 2007

IGEE KING. Both the given name and surname are familiar.

The 15-year-old boy standing at 6-foot-1 happens to be the son of former cage great Abe King, whom he named after his former team manager at Great Taste and Presto, Ignacio ‘Iggy’ Gotao.

“Bata pa, pero he’s improving,” said King, the former Toyota Corolla resident power forward who flew to town Saturday night from Washington D.C. and made a special personal appearance in the PSA Forum yesterday at the Shakey’s United Nations Avenue branch.

The young King is currently playing for the Gig Harbor High School in Seattle, and was part of the 8th grade team that recently won the Hoopin’ for Life basketball tournament in the US.

Abe, now 50 but whose presence remains noticeable with his height and stocky build, also dreams to see his son play in college �" and hopefully pro ball �" in the Philippines, although he stressed studies should remain his priority.

After playing for San Beda during his college years, King turned pro and suited up for Toyota, Great Taste and Purefoods, rising to become one of the best power forwards in the history of the PBA.

Not to demean the kind of talent in the league today, but King believes he can hold a candle to pro players of today if he’s at the prime of his career.

In between laughs, he said, “magiging mayabang ako nito. Pero kung inabot ko ang basketball ngayon na ganyan kalinis, palagay ko makakalamang ako ng maraming beses.”

“Tingnan ninyo nga ang mukha ko ngayon, mukhang boksingero na,” he said, pointing to the cuts and bruises in his face that had been the result of the long, tedious 18 years he spent in the PBA from 1977.

A one-time Mythical team member known for his rebounding and defensive prowess, King once scored 60 points for the Tamaraws in 1979.

King retired in 1995 after winning a championship with Purefoods, an experience which he considers as very, very painful. “Mahal ko kasi ang PBA,” he said

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