MANILA, Philippines – Former PBA big man Antero “Terry” Saldaña died on Wednesday, February 1, due to a lingering illness. He was 64.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial confirmed the news after talking to Ed Cordero, a former teammate of Saldaña at Toyota.

Saldaña started his PBA career at Toyota in 1982 and helped the franchise rule the Reinforced Filipino and Open Conferences during his rookie year.

He went on to play for Ginebra, Alaska, Swift, and Red Bull throughout a long career that lasted nearly two decades.

Seeing action under the tutelage of legendary player-coach Robert Jaworski Sr., Saldaña won two of his total six PBA titles with the Ginebra franchise during the 1986 Open Conference and 1997 Commissioner’s Cup.

He was the first-ever recipient of the PBA Most Improved Player award, taking it home in 1983.

After a brief stint with the Batangas Blades in the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association in 1999, Saldaña found his way back to the PBA despite already being over 40 and ended his career with Red Bull in 2000.

Cracking the Mythical Second Team twice, Saldaña posted career averages of 8.4 points on 50% shooting to go with 6 rebounds in 753 games, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon.

Saldaña enrolled at UST in the late 2010s. – Rappler.com