by Waylon Galvez
PBA great Danny Florencio passed away due to cardiac arrest Saturday morning in Pittsburgh, California where he was based. He was 70 years old.
At 5-foot-10, Florencio earned the moniker “Skywalker” and “Daredevil” because of his leaping abilities during his PBA days as he played professional basketball for U-Tex, Seven-Up, Toyota and Galerie Dominique. Prior to that, he also played for YCO and Crispa in the MICAA.
He retired in 1983 after a stellar professional career.
Toti Bautista, a close friend of Florencio, said that the former cager suffered a stroke.
“First time na nangyari sa kanya yun,” said Bautista.
Ex-pro Allan Caidic posted a photo of him and Florencio on Twitter @trggrmn saying: “Rest in peace to my friend, my kumpare and one of my idols in Philippine basketball DANNY FLORENCIO.”
In 2000, Florencio was named to the 25 Greatest Players in the PBA, and in 2007, he was indicted into the league’s Hall of Fame.
He migrated to the US where he worked for several years in a hospital.
As an amateur player, Florencio won a gold medal with the national team during the 1967 Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Championship that earned the country a slot in the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
Florencio played college ball for the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers.