MANILA, Philippines – Ron Jacobs, the legendary coach and PBA Hall of Famer who had been confined to bed since a near fatal stroke in 2001, passed away shortly before Christmas eve. He would have turned 73 Sunday.
Before tipoff of the Globalport-Barako Bull match last night at the MOA Arena, the PBA offered a minute of silence for the passing of Jacobs and another league Hall of Famer Lim Eng Beng four days earlier.
Jacobs was only the third coach enshrined in the PBA Hall of Fame after Baby Dalupan and Dante Silverio.
The American mentor, a former Coach of the Year winner in the West Coast Conference in the US NCAA, revolutionized Philippine basketball in the 80s, steering the national team to various championships, including one title run in an import-laden tourney in the PBA.
He delivered the last ABC (now known as FIBA Asia) crown for the country in 1986 after piloting earlier two Jones Cup championships (1981 and 1985) and an Asian Youth title conquest (1981) by Team Phl then under the basketball program of Ambassador Danding Cojuangco.
Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic and Hector Calma are among the players Jacobs developed into cage superstars.
In coaching, Jacobs helped out future champion coaches Jong Uichico, Siot Tanquingcen, Eric Altamirano, Binky Favis among others.
Shortly after ending the Philippines’ 13-year title drought in Asian basketball in 1986, Jacobs also saw the end of his duty with the Phl national quintet as Cojuangco left the country during the EDSA Revolution.
He came back in 1994 and took the head coaching job at San Miguel Beer on the return of Cojuangco.
He had just been named by the PBA to handle Team Phl in the 2002 Busan Asian Games when he suffered a stroke.
Meanwhile, the wake will be on Dec. 27-28 from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight at the Sanctuario de San Antonio Forbes Chapel De San Francisco in Makati.
The family has requested for prayers in lieu of flowers.