IT was a night fit for a ‘fallen knight’ when Samboy “Skywalker” Lim came home to his alma mater, the Colegio de San Juan de Letran campus in Intramuros, Manila on Tuesday.
Lim, 61, passed away on December 23, 2023, two days before Christmas.
Samboy had three National Collegiate Athletic Association championships in 1982, 1983 and 1984 with the Letran Knights and was in the Philippine Basketball Association’s 25 Greatest Players’ list.
Samboy collapsed after suffering a heart attack on November 28, 2014 during an exhibition match. He slipped into comatose and regained consciousness in January, 2015.
The Letran Knights, school officials and alumni, together with fellow cagers paid tribute to Samboy with anecdotes and stories during necrological services at the CSJL Chapel.
Spotted were some of the school’s top brass such as CSJL rector Fr. Raymund Fernando P. Jose, OP; CSJL athletics director Fr. Victor Calvo, OP; and former Letran chaplain Fr. Franklin Beltran, who administered the Last Rites Extreme Unction to Samboy at Medical City in Pasig City. Also seen were CSJL alumni/journalist Bartolome “Barbie” Atienza, coach Justino “Tino” Pinat, cagers Paul Alvarez, EJ Feihl and Alvin Patrimonio.
The Letran community also asked sports fans to “pray for the eternal repose of the soul of Samboy, our beloved Letran Knight and a basketball legend who graced the courts with brilliance and left an indelible mark on Philippine sports.”
At the sidelines of Lim’s wake, Pinat narrated how he became close buddies with the Skywalker during their collegiate years at Letran and heydays in the NCAA.
“It started out in 1983 when I tried out for Letran after graduating at Quezon City High School. I was a rookie and it was Samboy’s second year with the Knights,” Pinat said, adding that he became Samboy’s favorite teammate, especially during their one-on-one practices.
“I was a willing teammate and everyone was so competitive. Until we became good friends,” Pinat recalled.
From there, after the regular practice sessions, they did some extra workouts like dunks. It was at Letran that their bonding became strong.
When Samboy and Pinat graduated college, both continued keeping tabs even though the former was busy in the PBA and the latter was playing hoops in the Philippine Amateur Basketball League,
Later on, Pinat played for a league in Hong Kong but injury sidelined him.
“We (Samboy) still got in touch, while I was in HK,” the 6’3” Pinat said.
Meanwhile, CSJL said to accommodate more people, the cremated remains of Samboy will stay at the Colegio Chapel until Thursday. Viewing starts at 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Mass will be celebrated at 7 p.m. on December 27 and 28.
Inurnment is on December 29, after a 12 noon Mass at the Garden of the Divine Word Columbarium inside the SVD seminary on 101 E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, New Manila, Quezon City. With Peter C. Atencio