MANILA, Philippines – A planned motorcycle trip with his friends took a tragic turn as former PBA player Cristiano “Cris” Bolado died yesterday morning at Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. He was 47.

According to his partner, Anne Christine Waje, Bolado rode with his fellow motorcycle enthusiasts “at least twice a month.” 

“Sobrang nakakabigla (It really took me by surprise),” Waje, who has been with Bolado for 11 years, told Rappler through a Facebook exchange. 

The couple had been in Cambodia since 2013.

The 6-foot-6 big man, a father of two, worked as a basketball coach in an international school in Phnom Penh while managing their restaurant.

Waje said they are now coordinating with the Philippine Embassy in the capital of Phnom Penh to return Bolado’s remains to the Philippines. 

Bolado, a former National University Bulldogs player, was a second-rounder in the 1994 draft and eventually won 11 PBA titles, highlighted by a grand slam with Alaska in 1996. He retired from the PBA in 2003. – with reports from Camille Elemia/Rappler.com