Happy Birthday, Roberto “Bobby” Jose ( May 11 )
Aris Garcia
1.
Happy Birthday, Roberto “Bobby” Jose
Source : Assorted Magazines (PBA Archives Collections)
“The Firecracker”
4x PBA champion
1989 Grandslam champion
UST Glowing Goldies standout
1987 RP Youth Team member
Roberto Jose was one of twelve new cagers who were thrown into battle early this year in the ninth staging of the Asian Basketball Confederation Junior championships in Manila. The original team coached by Joe Lipa received a lot of flak from the public which had all of a sudden, developed a purist attitude towards the composition of the over-aged squad. in. This is where Jose and company came "It was a fruitful experience for me," said the 6-3 Jo-e, who added that he learned scientific basketball from Lipa. That was the start of good things for Bobby, eldest of three kids of Alfredo Jose and Victoria Silvosa. He was born on May 11, 1963. His father once drib. bled for Far Eastern University. Bobby grew up in Bocaue, Bulacan, and spent his high school years at St. Paul's College in Bocaue where he played only in the intramurals, He took up his first year of college at the Meycauayan Institute and played under coach Jerry Espiritu in the 1984 Bulacan Private Schools Athletic Association league. The following year, a friend who was a classmate of UST's Raymond Fran, told him to try out for the Glowing Goldies, which would be without a center since Fran was graduating. Bobby did so but only managed to make it to the reserve list. In 1986, despite minimal playing time with the Goldies, he still managed to impress scouts, Joe Lipa in particular. After his stint with the junior team, Jose became a power to reckon with, not only in the UAAP, but also in the PABL where he was signed up by Meralco Industrial Engineering Services Corporation (MIESCOR). In the last UAAP tourney, Jose was the top scorer for UST, averaging 15.07 points per game with a high of 34 made when the Glowing Goldies thumped National University, 116-104 on September 3. After a cellar finish in the double round elims, Miescor Builders suddenly rebounded back and are now sure of making it to the semifinal round in the company of early qualifiers, ConverseLhuillier, RFM-Swift's and Magnolia Ice Cream. "We're beginning to blend well. Ngayon pa lang kami nakaka-adapt sa style ni coach Pilo Pumaren," said Jose, who can double up as center and forward. 
