On-court tussle’s all in the past for PBA’s ‘Chairman of the Board’ and ‘Destroyer’

As players, Abe King and Rudy Distrito can be considered fierce rivals. In one of their games in 1982, King, then playing for Toyota, even got involved in a melee with Crispa's Distrito and Bernie Fabiosa. The on-court rivalry lingered until the latter stages of their respective careers. But all these are in the past now insofar as the Philippine Basketball Association’s “Chairman of the Board" King and “The Destroyer" Distrito are concerned.

In fact, during the rugged guard’s most trying times in the US – undergoing trial and later serving sentence for manslaughter – it was King who stood by Distrito. King, one of the leading rebounders and defenders during his prime who is now working as a contractor for a coffee company in Washington, heads the PBA Legends Foundation, a group that helps former pros. And Distrito is one of the first beneficiaries of the group, which staged a series of exhibition games to raise funds for the troubled cager’s legal defense. “May tumawag sa akin, hindi ko naman alam ang nangyayari sa kanya nu’ng time na ‘yun dahil subsob ako sa trabaho," King recalled in an interview with GMANews.Tv. “Why did I help him? Kapwa natin player ‘yan, at hindi ko naman pinersonal ‘yung mga nangyari sa amin before. Ang explanation ko nga diyan sa mga nangyari sa amin ni Rudy, is maybe ‘yun ang hiningi ng pagkakataon at that time." Distrito, who gained fame when he hit the title-winning shot for Ginebra against Shell in the 1991 PBA First Conference and infamy for giving then Alaska rookie Jeffrey Cariaso a clothesline tackle that resulted in his suspension in 1995, has since been freed. He’s returned to the Philippines hoping to return to basketball, possibly as part of the coaching staff. “Our prayers to Rudy, ikinagagalak namin ang kanyang maagang paglaya," King said from the US. “Pero ngayon pa lang siya magsisimula ng trials. Kabisado ko ang Pilipinas, sana mapunta siya sa magandang kapaligiran." King wished his fellow PBA star good luck in his quest to start all over again in the Philippines. “Bagamat napatunayan niya ang disiplina ng isang magaling na atleta matapos magpakabait ng limang taon sa kulungan, ay marami pa rin siyang pagsubok na pagdadaanan ngayong siya ay malaya na," he said. - GMANews.TV