Birthday Greetings to Macdonald De Joya ( Jan 07 ) Ginebra 1992 Rookie

Macdonald De Joya, one of two rookies on the Ginebra San Miguel squad, is very happy to have made it back to the field of bas- ketball. "I've fulfilled a lot of goals. I've made it to the commercial league, became a member of the national team and now I'm playing for the most popular team in the land - Ginebra," narrates the 6-3 de Joya. Macky, as he is called, took a plunge into commercial caging in haste back in 1984 when while still a freshman at San Beda, he played for Masagana 99 in the PABL. He only lasted a year with the Ricegrowers before 'vanishing'. Then, he suddenly left the limelight just when people were talking about a rising cage star. "I got married. I stopped playing for three years," said Macky whose marriage to Mary Christine Solis is blessed with two lovely children: MacDonald Clarence, 4; and Mari Dana Camille, 2. Off the hardcourt, he worked for three years at his father's office, H. De Joya Electrical Inc. His father is an Electrical Engineer. "I forgot all about basketball. I didn't even jog or practice. I didn't even watch basketball games. I really thought it was all over," related De Joya. During a gathering of former team- mates at San Beda College (where he played two years of senior ball in the NCAA), Gerald Esplana, who is now with Presto Ice Cream, told him there was an opening at Sta. Lucia Realty back in 1989. This was because guys like Romeo dela Rosa and Jerry Ruiz had moved up to the PBA. "Sabi ko sa sarili ko, wala namang mawawala kung susubukin ko'ng bumalik. And so I tried out with Sta. Lucia. Fortu- nately, nagustuhan naman ako ni coach 

Nemie Villegas. I'm very thankful because on my first tournament, I was given the breaks I needed to boost my confidence," said de Joya. Villegas was later replaced by Francis Rodriguez and de Joya's career soared higher. Last year, he applied for pro status and was drafted on the second round by Shell Rimula-X. "Masayang-masaya na ako dahil na-draft nga ako ng isang PBA team. I spent a week with Shell but later I became frustrated. Sinabi ni coach Arlene Rodriguez na ang kailangan ng team ay isang power forward at isang center. They took in Ronnie Lucero and Romulo Mamaril. Balik-amateur ulit ako," said Macky. That, however, proved to be a bless- ing in disguise. He had performed so well with Sta. Lucia in an effort, perhaps, to show Shell what it had left out. And be- cause of his brilliance in the PBL, de Joya made it to the National men's team to the ABC meet in Tokyo and later the RP squad that wrested the championship from Malaysia in the 16th Southeast Asian Games held in Manila. "I felt very proud to be a national player. Lahat naman ng amateurs iyan ang pangarap. At least, naabot ko iyan," said Macky. Before the 1992 PBA season started, he and fellow RP cager Emilio Chuatico went to the Ginebra camp and told Robert Jaworski that they wanted to be part of the Gins' crew.