Fortunato "Fort" Acuña (April 17, 1948 – July 6, 1981) was a Filipino professional basketball player and coach. A 6'1" center/forward, he played for the

UP Fighting Maroons The UP Fighting Maroons are the collegiate varsity teams of the University of the Philippines Diliman. The teams play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the Philippines' premier college sports league. UP is one o ...

in the

UAAP The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univer ...

. 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 ...

, Acuña played for the

Meralco Reddy Kilowatts The MERALCO Reddy Kilowatts were a basketball team of the MERALCO Athletic Club owned by the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) that played in the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) from 1968 to 1972. Its moniker and m ...

until it disbanded in 1972. He joined the newly formed Toyota Comets in 1973, along with Meralco teammates

Alberto Reynoso Alberto C. Reynoso (May 14, 1940 – November 22, 2011), also known by his nickname "Big Boy" Reynoso, was a professional basketball player from the Philippines. During the 1960s to 1970s, Reynoso played in the amateur basketball tournament of t ...

, Orlando Bauzon,

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 ...

and

Francis Arnaiz Francis C. Arnaiz (born June 4, 1951) is a Filipino former basketball player. He is best known for his career in the PBA, playing for Toyota and Ginebra San Miguel from 1975 to 1986. Early basketball years Arnaiz had a love for sports and wou ...

. He continued with the Toyota team when the franchise transferred to 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 ...

in 1975. Acuña retired from active play after the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

PBA All-Filipino Conference and began serving as assistant coach for Toyota. On December 11

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, he replaced Dante Silverio as Toyota head coach after Silverio resigned when management decided to reinstate

Ramon Fernandez Ramon Sadaya Fernandez (; born October 3, 1953) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and current commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission. Fernandez won four PBA Most Valuable Player awards and a record of 19 PBA ti ...

, Ernesto Estrada and Abe King for Game 2 of the ongoing PBA Invitational Conference finals. Acuña steered the team to the title against arch-rivals Crispa. This was Toyota's sixth title and Acuña's only PBA championship as head coach. On December 11, 1980, Toyota was playing against the Crispa in Game 3 of the 1980 PBA All-Filipino Conference finals. During half time, Acuña was fired by team manager Pablo Carlos Jr. for refusing to heed his request to field

. Toyota won that game, preventing a Crispa sweep of the tournament. The Redmanizers would eventually clinch the title by wrapping up the series the following game. Acuña committed suicide on July 6, 1981, by ingesting a lethal dose of

insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...

. The following day, Toyota had a scheduled game against Crispa during the semi-final round of the 1981 PBA Open Conference. The team appeared for the game with a piece of black stripe on their jerseys as a sign of mourning. Seemingly affected by the shocking news, the Super Diesels lost to the Redmanizers, 133-118.

References

External links

History of the PBA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acuna, Fort 1948 births 1981 deaths Centers (basketball) Filipino men's basketball coaches Filipino men's basketball players Toyota Super Corollas coaches Power forwards UP Fighting Maroons men's basketball players Toyota Super Corollas players 1981 suicides Suicides by poison Suicides in the Philippines 20th-century Filipino sportsmen