Rudy Distrito (born May 17, 1958 in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...

), is a retired Filipino professional basketball player in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

. His moniker is The Destroyer because of his rugged and intense brand of play.

Amateur career

For three years, Distrito played collegiate basketball in the

University of the East The University of the East ( fil, Pamantasan ng Silangan), also known as UE, is a leading private university located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1946, business tycoon Lucio Tan acquired the university in 1990. UE was once labeled as the ...

under coach Filo Pumaren and at the same time played for Crispa in the

MICAA The Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) was a sports association which existed in Manila, Philippines from 1938 to 1981. Throughout its existence, it staged various sports and was participated by prominent Philippine co ...

Professional career

Distrito was recruited by Crispa and played with the Redmanizers from 1981 to 1982. After Crispa, he was acquired by Sanyu Group of Companies, which took over from the U/tex franchise, he played for the team for nearly two seasons and was shipped to Gold Eagle Beermen in late 1984. Distrito stayed on with the SMC ballclub until the team filed a leave of absence after the 1985 season. After one season with newcomer Alaska Milk in 1986. He revert to amateur status and briefly played for Magnolia in the PABL and was signed by the

Ginebra San Miguel Ginebra San Miguel Inc. (GSMI, ) () (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.) is a Philippines-based diversified beverage company majority-owned by San Miguel Corporation (SMC). History La Tondeña was established in 1902 by Carlos Palanca, S ...

as a free agent in 1987. He spent the best years of his career with Ginebra playing under coach

Robert Jaworski Robert Vincent Salazar Jaworski Sr. (; born March 8, 1946) is a Filipino former professional basketball player, head coach and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1998 to 2004. He played 23 seasons in the Philippine Bas ...

. He is best remembered for taking the winning shot in Game Seven that completed Ginebra’s return from a 1-3 finals deficit against

Shell Rimula X Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

in 1991 First Conference Championship series. He was traded to Swift for

Pido Jarencio Alfredo Lorenzo Mendoza Jarencio (born September 5, 1964) is a Filipino basketball coach and former professional basketball player who is the head coach for the NorthPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was the h ...

in 1992, and played for the RFM Franchise until 1995. He was suspended and eventually banned for life by then PBA Commissioner

Jun Bernardino Emilio "Jun" Bernardino, Jr. (November 9, 1947 – March 24, 2007) was the fifth commissioner of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was elected as commissioner of the league in 1994 and retired in 2002. He served as the commissioner ...

in 1995 for committing a flagrant foul after hoisting a dangerous tackle on then-Alaska rookie

Jeffrey Cariaso Jeffrey Joaquin Cariaso is a Filipino-American coach and retired professional basketball player. He is the former head coach of the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He also played for various PBA teams, mostly ...

in midair while Cariaso was going for an uncontested layup during their game against the Milkmen in the 1995 PBA All-Filipino Cup Finals. The Games and Amusement Board also revoked his playing license. He was never able to play in the PBA again. He also played from the

San Juan Knights The San Juan Kings, previously known as the San Juan Knights, are a professional basketball team representing San Juan, Metro Manila. They played in the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) from 1999 to 2001, the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketba ...

in the MBA alongside

Chris Calaguio Christian Jay Calaguio (born December 26, 1975, in Makati, Philippines) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is a former San Beda Red Cub cage ...

, former teammate

Bonel Balingit Bonel P. Balingit (born November 30, 1967), also known as The Gentle Giant and Man-Mountain, is a Filipino retired professional basketball player who played as a center. Basketball career The hulking Bonel played for the University of the Visaya ...

, Omanzie Rodriguez and

Chito Victolero Ercito Victolero, known as Chito Victolero (born November 29, 1975) in Santa Maria, Bulacan, is a former Filipino professional basketball player and current coach. He is currently the head coach of the Magnolia Hotshots of the Philippine Basketba ...

during the 1999 season.

Later life

Distrito moved to the United States with his family shortly after his retirement and got separated from his wife thereafter. On November 24, 2004, he was accused of stabbing to death a 24-year-old Mexican gangster Juan Amaya following a heated argument at Dekow Lane Apartments in Las Vegas, Nevada, which he considered an act of self-defense. In 2005, he was sentenced to a prison term of 4 to 12 years a Northern Nevada jail for manslaughter, but was granted parole and deported to the Philippines in 2010. He is now currently based in his hometown in Bacolod City.

In other media

Distrito's life story was featured in ABS-CBN show ''

Rated K ''Rated Korina'' (formerly known as ''Rated K'') is a Philippine television newscast lifestyle and Magazine show produced by Brightlight Productions and associated by ABS-CBN, hosted by Korina Sanchez. It currently broadcast via Cignal TV's On ...

'', hosted by

Korina Sanchez Korina Maria Baluyot Sanchez-Roxas (; born October 5, 1964), known professionally as Korina Sanchez, is a Filipino broadcast journalist, television news anchor, senior field correspondent, magazine show host, radio anchor, and newspaper columnis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Distrito, Rudy 1958 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players from Negros Occidental Crispa Redmanizers players Filipino men's basketball players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Pop Cola Panthers players San Juan Knights players San Miguel Beermen players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Bacolod UE Red Warriors basketball players