Bicolano Superman in New York

Nine-time PBA champion Yoyoy Villamin now works in construction in New York, his basketball days a full quarter of a century behind him. In an interview with The STAR and Basketball Universe PHL, the three-time PBA All-Star shared how his post career move overseas was a no-brainer.

“I really intended to go to the US,” he admitted. “There was no job waiting, just looking for opportunities. I didn’t consider coaching because coaching in the Philippines is very political. Here, as long as you work hard, you’ll get somewhere. There, if you stop working, you’ll starve.”

The former Crispa big man says that there was no difference between the MICAA and the PBA, except in classification. All of it was just basketball, and at the time, the “no-harm, no-foul” rule made it very colorful. You could do practically anything on defense and get away with it. The seven-time PBA All-Defensive Team member frowns on today’s rules which favor the offensive player too much, in his opinion, unlike when he was half of Alaska Milk’s “Bruise Brothers” with Ricky Relosa until the Milkmen blew up the team to go with a younger core.

“You could not get a lay-up alone. You would regret it,” he laughs. “You could hang on to somebody, bump him, send him to the floor. If somebody got past me, Ricky would go after him. If he got past Ricky, I’d send him under the basket. Now, they call fouls on little contact.”

Around the time that he placed second in the 1987 PBA Most Valuable Player race, Villamin was one of five players on the league’s protected list, big men who could not be together on any team. He says that made playing more difficult because your options were limited. Yoyoy could not even be teammates with those he played with before, like Abet Guidaben and Philip Cezar. It was also around this time when he started having knee problems from the constant pounding on the basketball court. He recalls that at the ULTRA, his sneakers would even stick to the floor when you attempted to pivot. After a couple of years of dealing with the pain, he decided to have surgery. In 1995, he was hailed PBA Comeback Player of the Year.

Villamin bounced around from one team to another in the second half of his career. From 1999 to 2000, he even suited up for the Iloilo MegaVoltz in the Metropolitan Basketball Association. His resurgence got the attention of a PBA team, but they offered him a pittance, so he decided to retire. Soon after, he packed his bags and headed to America.

Turning 67 years old in November, Villamin says he still sees himself working for another two years. After that, he will finally enjoy some rest, and reflect on the two lives. He has lived: one in the spotlight as a basketball superstar in the Philippines; and the other as an Overseas Filipino Worker among millions in America. Still, he does have one wish.

“I just want people to remember the Bicolano Superman.”

The full interview with Yoyoy Villamin will be featured on Basketball Universe PHL on YouTube and Facebook tonight, Oct. 20. Subscribe now.