BY JONAS TERRADO
Long before he became known as the patriarch of Ginebra’s “Never Say Die” spirit, Robert Jaworski was starting to plant the seeds for what turned out to be a legendary career as a Redmanizer.
It was 1965 when Jaworski made his first stint in the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association for Floro Textiles, a ballclub that would later be known as the Crispa Redmanizers.
No photos of Jaworski donning the Redmanizers jersey have been unearthed thus far while details of his stint playing under coach Baby Dalupan and Danny Floro are scarce.
But Pilo Pumaren, Dalupan’s long-time assistant, said that the stint was made to hone Jaworski’s skills while he was still with the University of the East.
Dalupan at the time was coaching both the Red Warriors and the Redmanizers.
“Ang ginawa ni coach Baby, pinaglaro niya [si Jaworski] sa Crispa para doble praktis,” Pumaren said as quoted by a story published by Spin.ph in July 2012.
Newspaper accounts describe Jaworski playing a key role for the Floro Textiles squad that included some popular cagers and personalities in the 60s.
Among them was the late Rhoel Nadurata, who later became a trusted lieutenant of coach Yeng Guiao, Romeo Yanga, Jimmy Mariano, future PBA coach Nat Canson and a certain Romy Diaz, who starred for Far Eastern University.
Diaz would later set aside his pair of basketball shoes in exchange for showcasing his evil laughter as a villain in numerous action movies.
Floro Textiles went on to reach the championship series of the MICAA ’65, but lost to an Ysmael Steel side led by Engracio Arazas, Narciso Bernardo, Joaquin Rojas, Big Boy Reynoso and Boy Marquez, who passed away last week.
Ysmael finished off Floro, 80-76, with Jaworski scoring eight points in a losing effort.
His Redmanizer career, however, didn’t last long.
While becoming a part of University of the East’s earlier runs to a historic seven-peat and helping the Philippines capture the 1967 ABC Championship, Jaworski had a short run with YCO before joining Meralco.
After being reinstated following a lifetime ban imposed to him in 1971, Jaworski joined Toyota in 1973 where he later played one of the leading roles in a memorable rivalry with Crispa.
Jaworski and Toyota beat Crispa four out of their 10 PBA championship meetings before the Delta Motors franchise disbanded before the 1984 season. He wound up with Gilbey’s Gin, which later renamed to Ginebra. The rest was history.
Still, Jaworski once said that he was grateful for his time with the Redmanizers even if it was a short one.
“Although I have not played in Crispa’s glorious years, I have always considered myself a Crispa fan,” Jaworski said in a 1985 Panorama article featuring Crispa’s disbandment.
