Rudy Distrito (born May 17, 1958 in
Bacolod), 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 Ba ...
. 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 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 1995 PBA All-Filipino Cup Finals was the best-of-7 series basketball championship of the 1995 PBA All-Filipino Cup, and the conclusion of the conference playoffs. The Sunkist Orange Juicers and Alaska Milkmen played for the 60th championship ...
. 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, 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 column ...
.
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