PBA great Jojo Lastimosa paid tribute to his old coach, Jun Noel, who passed away recently, and the cage legend couldn’t help but recall fond memories of playing under his amiable mentor, his first ever coach in the commercial league.
“He was my first commercial coach in Cebu together with my brother (Danny). He was already a well-known coach in Cebu back then. He was very mild-mannered, never seemed to get upset in any situation and always ‘malambing’ with his tone,” wrote Lastimosa in a Viber message to Pinoystep.com.
The Lastimosa Brothers played under Noel when the Cebu-based team Mama’s Love participated in the Philippine Amateur Basketball League during the mid-1980s and immediately, the squad attracted strong following from the Visayan crowd, who were staying in Manila.
“They would pack the old Rizal Memorial Coliseum,” recalled Lastimosa.
Behind Jolas, Mama’s Love became a contender while playing alongside other Visayan stalwarts which include Boy Cabahug and Apet Jao and big man Zaldy Realubit. Lastimosa emerged as the league’s Most Valuable Player in the 1985 Invitationals and then powered the squad all the way to the championship round in the season-ending Challenge To Champions event, but lost to the Epoy Jalmasco-led Army Jungle Fighters.
According to Lastimosa, Noel is a man full of wisdom.
“I remember him telling me when I got back to Mama’s Love practice after winning the MVP in the National Inter-Collegiate championship while playing for University of San Jose-Recolletos, ‘baka lumaki na ulo mo ngayong nanalo ka na ng MVP?’ I just smiled. I was only 20 years old then and wasn’t getting much playing time because of my veteran teammates,” added Lastimosa.
That USJR squad where Lastimosa played for was composed of fellow future PBA stars in Dondon Ampalayo and Realubit and the team went on to defeat the Samboy Lim-led Letran Knights in the Inter-Collegiate Championship.
“When I returned to Mama’s Love, that’s where I won another MVP, this time in the PABL with Mama’s Love — and the rest was history,” added Lastimosa. “I left for Lhuillier after that.”
In 1986, Lastimosa moved on to Lhuillier to play for the Jewelers and joined forces with Lim and another future PBA star, Al Solis, as well as Harmon Codiñera, and the team went on to beat Hope Cigarettes during the Invitational Cup championship.
