Rudy Distrito (born May 17, 1958 in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

), 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 Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

. 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 (), also known as UE, is a private university located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1946, business tycoon Lucio Tan acquired the university in 1990. UE was once labeled as the "largest university in Asia" when i ...

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 c ...

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 Food and Beverage, Inc. History La Tondeña was established in 1902 by Carlos T. Pal ...

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), also known by his nicknames Sonny, Big J, and Jawo (), is a Filipino former professional basketball player, head coach and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines fro ...

. 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 Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

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

Pido Jarencio Alfredo Lorenzo "Pido" Mendoza Jarencio (born September 5, 1964) is a Filipino basketball coach and former professional player. He is the head coach for the UST Growling Tigers of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). ...

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 commissione ...

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

Jeffrey Cariaso Jeffrey Joaquin Cariaso (born September 12, 1972) is a Filipino-American professional basketball coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He also played for variou ...

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 Knights (also abbreviated as SJK) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in San Juan. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The team plays its ...

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 Palahang 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 t ...

, Omanzie Rodriguez and

Chito Victolero Ercito "Chito" Victolero (born November 29, 1975) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player. He is the head coach for the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played in the PB ...

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 ''Rated K'', is a Philippine television news magazine show broadcast by ABS-CBN, TV5 and Kapamilya Channel. Hosted by Korina Sanchez, it aired on the network's Sunday evening line-up from May 30, 2004 to May 3, 202 ...

'', hosted by

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

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 (MBA) players San Miguel Beermen players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Bacolod UE Red Warriors basketball players Sportspeople convicted of crimes 20th-century Filipino sportsmen