Former Philippine Basketball Association star Emmanuel “Boybits” Victoria passed away late Wednesday, San Beda team manager Jude Roque told Daily Tribune. He was 50.
Reports said he died of heart attack.
After a stellar career with the Red Lions in the NCAA, Victoria was selected third overall in the 1994 PBA Draft by Swift and eventually won the Rookie of the Year honors in the pro league.
He played for Swift until 1998 before being traded to San Miguel Beer where he would team up with Olsen Racela.
In 2018, Victoria was diagnosed suffering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks healthy nerve cells in the peripheral nervous system, leading to weakness and numbness of the body.
He was part of the Sunkist squad that came short of completing a grand slam in 1995 after winning the All-Filipino Cup and Commissioner’s Cup under Derick Pumaren.