Pinoy Basketball Legend Tribute - Franco Marquicias

Franco Marquicias an Olympian who never played varsity but thru hardwork , he played for amateur leagues then became noticable among players because he was a workhorse. Twenty years later, his eldest Leonardo, a 5'11" guard known for his one-hand push shots, made the Melbourne Olympics. The old Marquicias first made the national team in 1927 to the Far Eastern Championship Games held in Shanghai, China. In 1934, he again was a national team member to the Manila Invitationals. Considered by many as rough ('fairly rough, yes, but not dirty'), Marquicias, in 1957, together with his four sons, competed in the Japan Invitationals. Leonardo made the 1958 Asian Games after he bravely trained with the team as alternate. "I told him not to mind what people would say but to go ahead and train with the team. The other alternates bowed out. I told him that a Marquicias never quits a battle, the old Marquicias said. Leonardo's fighting spirit paid off when one regular member withdrew because of heart trouble, and he was instantly taken in. 'There was a mild controversy regarding Leonardo's inclusion to the team, the old man recalled, 'because rumors flew high that I gave Leo Prieto P2,000. That was not true because, then, I could not even afford to give away P100.' Mang Franco was born in Tabora, Tondo on December 17,  1905. He played backyard basketball 'because there was a basketball court right in front of our house in Tondo. Although he played baseball and volleyball, basketball struck him hardest, and at the age of 18, he seriously took to it. 'I studied at JRC and NU but I never got to play in their varsity teams. I learned basketball on my own.' Mang Franco's first team was Meralco in 1924. When the family. moved to Navotas, he formed the Athletic League which has its yearly inter-color tournament. Navotas He is the son of the late Victorino Marquicias and Petrona Polintan. His first wife was Paciencia Fajardo. They have six boys and a girl. When his wife died in 1948, he remarried the following year. With the former Sophia Quiningan, he has a boy and a girl. Six of his boys, at one time or the other, were familiar names in local basketball. Aside from Leonardo, there were Roberto, who played for FEU and Heacocks, Eduardo who played for Mapua and Heacocks, Rogelio and Federico played for Heacocks, while the youngest, Enrique had a short stint with the Letran Knights. Right now, the old man has a total of 32 grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren who all troop to the Marquicias main residence in Navotas on Sundays for the traditional family reunion. 'Rain or shine, they come and this is one kind of happiness I cannot define."