When Danny Florencio broke the PBA scoring record in 1977

There’s no denying that Danny Florencio is one of the most popular basketball players in the Philippines of all time. 

Former basketball players, especially those who played in the PBA in the 70’s and 80s, and have guested on the sports podcast, “An Eternity of Basketball,” professed their admiration for the man called “Daredevil Danny.” If a list was to be made as to who the former players originally idolized when they were growing up, Florencio would easily top the list among the former AEOB guests. Notable personalities who admired Florencio included his erstwhile Crispa teammates, Bogs Adornado and Atoy Co, Gene Lucindo and Ben Obrique.

Not really a surprise because Danilo Zoleta Florencio, a many-time Philippine national team member, was also one of the most exciting players in Philippine basketball. Florencio was the complete offensive package, a player who can score both inside and outside. He was a deadshot from anywhere within 20 feet of the basket but was just as lethal scoring inside with his incursions and penetrations. 

Yet, he was only, at most, 5’9 tall, going up against imports a foot taller than him. Florencio was the epitome of what a Filipino basketball player was and what many aspired to be. He can regale the crowd when he pierces through the defense using his speed and dribbling, then go up in the air, only to suspend himself mid-air to avoid the outstretched arms of a long-limbed defender considerably taller than him, then jackknifes and twists in the air and score off a reverse layup, using the ring to protect the ball from being swatted away. His hangtime, aerial moves were a sight to behold as his defender would already be descending while Florencio was still airborne.

Toyota’s Gil Cortez, the 1976 PBA Rookie of the Year, remembered the times when he had to go up against Florencio. “I play the other forward position, which meant that I had to protect the paint especially if Mon (Fernandez) is forced out to defend against the other import,” Cortez explained. “Danny is such an explosive player that when he beats his man on the dribble, I would help.” He then added, “Danny would then go up and under, levitate in the air, and release the ball on his way down. His layups are difficult to block because he had an array of moves, twisting and turning, fake with the left then go right, and would fake for a straight layup only to go reverse.”

It was common for fans of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s to marvel at this “bale” move – a picture perfect form that was considered very “pinoy.” Florencio’s pint-sized height was just as fitting, as the typical Filipino player that time stood less than six feet tall (anyone taller than six feet was considered a freak of nature and play center back then) – making Filipinos see themselves in Florencio and wanting to be like Danny.

Other fans were profuse with plaudits, describing the forward's moves as “madali lang ang basketbol sa kanya, pero papahirapan niya para mas maganda panoorin.” Another signature move was his ability to run at full speed from the backcourt then makes a full stop somewhere within 18 feet for a quick pull up. It was not uncommon to see his defenders ending up sprawled on the floor, tripping over after getting their feet knotted from Florencio’s quick stop. 

Quite unusually, Florencio’s array of moves didn’t exactly impress that many during his humble beginnings. The 5’9 whirlwind was then a scrawny, slit-eyed aspirant who lived in the small streets fronting the Tanduay Fire Station along Legarda in Sampaloc, had to seek a favor from his friend and former Mariwasa player, Delfin Cañares, to put in a good word for him with then FEATI head coach, Federico Palafox. Florencio was set to attend the tryouts for slots in the team’s high school roster.

Cañares did what he was asked and Palafox saw the potential in the son of a retired school principal from Kawit, Cavite (Guillermo Florencio) and an elementary school teacher (Leonor Zoleta). Yet, after three years, Florencio rode the bench and was hardly given enough floor burn to prove himself. “It wasn’t easy sitting out almost every game,” he said, “but never for once was I disheartened because I knew that one day, I’ll get the break I need and I’ll be able to show my coach my worth to the team.”

The break finally came when FEATI was playing in the PRISAA meet in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija. With FEATI’s star forward suffering a severe sprain ankle while attempting for a layup, Palafox called on Florencio to suit up. Florencio was shocked with the call out that he even clarified to his coach if he was being asked to enter the game. When Palafox nodded, he came in and turned in a sensational performance. This game pretty much signaled the birth of a future superstar. 

From there, he earned a slot to play for the University of Santo Tomas Glowing Goldies where he became a UAAP co-champion (shared with UE) in 1967. His accomplishments in the collegiate league earned him a slot with the national team that won the gold medal in the 1967 Seoul ABC. He would later rejoin the national team in 1971 Tokyo ABC where the team copped the silver medal. 

He also became a two-time Olympian, having played in the 1968 Mexico and 1972 Munich Olympics. In Munich, he was the team’s second leading scorer with 13.1 points per game, slightly behind Jimmy Mariano’s 13.9, further cementing his reputation as an incredible scoring machine.

Turning Pro

With Florencio joining his mother team, U/Tex in the PBA, he was part of the Weavers’ three-headed monster that included Rudolph Kutch and Larry Mumar. They collaborated in making the Euyang franchise the third best team in the PBA behind Crispa and Toyota in the league’s first two seasons.

After averaging 21.49 points per game in 1975 and 1976, Florencio’s playing time with U/Tex was slowly dropping from an initial high of 29 minutes per game in 1975 to 24 minutes the year after. When Tommy Manotoc took over the franchise’s coaching job in 1977, Florencio suited up for 22 minutes a game, averaging 18 points per game. After 3 games with the team, Manotoc made a drastic move, trading Florencio and Jimmy Otazu to the 7/Up Uncolas for Tino Reynoso and Ulysses Rodriguez.

Finding a new home 

But the marquee trade only turned out providential and fortunate for Danny. 7/Up coach Lauro “Bay” Mumar knew how to utilize Florencio’s skill set and unleashed him on the court. He was given a huge latitude to showcase his offensive skills, resulting to an incredible 33.44 points per game as an Uncola in 36 games. In 39 games that season, Florencio topped the scoring parade with a phenomenal 32.26 points per game, still the PBA’s all-time record for highest scoring average in one season. 

In the 1977 Open Conference, with 7/Up unveiling a seven-foot Caucasian, Steve Stroud and 6’7 Chris MacMurray as reinforcements, the Uncolas went on to play their best conference in their short 3-season stint with the PBA. Stroud was a stratospheric and lean seven-foot import with decent defensive skills while MacMurray was a lethal scorer who can score from midrange and penetrate inside. Yet, it was actually Florencio who carried the offensive load, powering the Uncolas to the playoffs for the first time.

On October 31, 7/Up shocked the defending champions, Crispa Redmanizers, 121-120 to remain in contention for a finals seat. Florencio scorched the hoops with 50 points as the Redmanizers couldn’t find an antidote even with Cyrus Mann as their import. Four days after, on November 3, Florencio once more burned the floor with 38 points but didn’t get the support from his two American teammates as MacMurray had a paltry 8 points and Stroud contributing only 2 markers, leading to a 7/Up loss against U/Tex, 96-92.

Breaking the record

Going up against the Toyota Tamaraws in a virtual do-or-die game, the Uncolas realized the difficulty of contending against a team ably backed by two talented reinforcements. The Silverio franchise brought in Bruce “Sky” King and John “Dr. I” Irving and was equally favored as the Redmanizers in winning the conference.

In what turned out to be the most devastating scoring performance up to that point, Florencio brought the house down, scoring from practically from every imaginary spot and from every complicated angle in various forms. He would pop jumpers from 18 feet, then make his game more unpredictable by going inside the paint and battling the 6’9 Irving or the 6’8 King. He would score off transition or create open shots for himself using his guile and shiftiness. Silverio utilized Robert Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz, Emerito Legaspi and Pablo Javier in trying to stop Florencio to no avail. 

But the Tamaraws just had more weapons. With Irving and King alternating inside and the locals dominating their counterparts, Stroud and MacMurray got into foul trouble and eventually fouled out, leaving Florencio with no one to back him up. The Tamaraws also made sure that the other Uncolas wouldn’t contribute in the offensive end, making 7/Up’s offense more predictable, leading to a 136-121 win and virtually eliminating the Uncolas for a finals seat. 

Still, Florencio wound up with 64 points, a PBA record for highest points among locals. This record would be later matched by Bogs Adornado in the 1980 season. In accomplishing this feat, Florencio proved just how efficient he was, making 21 of 25 FG attempts for a scorching 84% and 22 of 25 from the line for 88% - an amazing statline even in today’s basketball standards. 

His 64 points made up 53% of the team's total output, a scintillating display of offensive power that awed everyone.

Despite his electrifying performance, Florencio was despondent inside the locker room after the game. He felt bad that he wasn’t able to carry the team to a chance to enter the finals, regretting the fouling out of MacMurray and Stroud. “Sayang,” was how Florencio described it, “if Chris and Steve didn’t foul out, we probably could have won.”

Florencio wasn’t done yet, though, as he wanted to make sure that his team would be able to salvage a spot in the battle for 3^rd place. On November 17, with 7/Up toting a 3-6 card, just half a game ahead of Tanduay, they needed to beat the Presto Ice Cream Makers to avoid a tie with the Distillers. A win would result to a best of five series against Toyota after Crispa knocked out their arch rivals, 90-87, for the second finals seat for the right to go up against U/Tex in the championship.

In another amazing display of firepower, Florencio ripped the cords with 49 points to lead the Uncolas to an impressive 149-130 rout over Presto. MacMurray and Stroud ably backed him up this time with 40 and 22, respectively, with Larry Mumar and Jimmy Mariano chipping in 15 and 8 as well. For Presto, prolific import Niño Samuel led all scorers with 53 and was complemented by his import partner, Dana Lewis, who tallied 22. Johnny Revilla was Presto’s top local scorer with 16 while Ato Tolentino added 12. 

With Toyota

7/Up disbanded after their series against the Tamaraws where they finished 4th, yielding 2nd runner up honors to the Tamaraws. Filmanbank became the league’s newest team after buying the 7/Up franchise. Filmanbank happens to be owned by the Silverio family as well, making them and Toyota the first sister team act in the PBA. 

Needing bench depth to keep up with the Redmanizers, the Tamaraws bought out Florencio and erstwhile Royal Tru Orange hotshot, Estoy Estrada from Filmanbank. Estrada signed with the Bankers in the off season but it turned out to be a short-lived stay as he was immediately shipped to Toyota even before the season began. 

While fans questioned Florencio’s impressive league-leading 32.26 scoring average in 1977 because there were no other players who the team can turn to for scoring, he proved naysayers wrong. In 1978, now with Toyota that had superstars like Jaworski, Arnaiz, Fernandez and up and coming rookies like Abe King, Legaspi, Javier, among others, Florencio continued to sizzle, leading the team and the league in scoring once again with an impressive 23.37 points in 30 games. His addition allowed Toyota to win two of the three titles that year – the All Filipino and the Invitationals. They would have had a solid shot at the grandslam that year but Florencio got injured in the semifinal round of the Open Conference. The team wasn’t able to buck the loss of their top offensive player, giving up the finals seat to eventual champions, U/Tex and arch rivals, Crispa. 

Danny Florencio passed away last February 25, 2018 at the age of 70 years old in Pittsburg, California, where he has been based for several years. A member of the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players list, Daredevil Danny proved that height is not an obstacle in achieving success inside the hardcourt. His offensive repertoire and creativity didn’t have boundaries as he found ways to score regardless of the phalanx of defensive players that tried to stop him.

It is not a surprise that Florencio is regarded a players’ fave, much as Efren “Bata” Reyes is generally regarded by his peers and colleagues as their favorite player. He became an even bigger personality upon his retirement as he became close to several of his former co-players, helping them survive in the US. While younger fans may barely know him, they would also regret having missed out watching perhaps the most exciting player to ever come out of the basketball woodworks in the 60’s and 70’s.