By REY C. LACHICA
As always, Rodolfo “Ompong” Segura, 74, was sitting near a railing with his back against the enchanting dancing fountain of the Luneta Park on a cool Monday morning.
On his side is a paper bag of ‘pandesal’ which the former PBA player normally offers without fail – from Monday to Friday – each time a friend or even a Facebook pal would try to start a conversation with him.
During a brief talk on that glorious moment, Segura grinned widely as the topic of conversation was narrowed to PBA greats. For the former Adamson hotshot, PBA greats came in different colors and sizes.
But for him, the best player of his era and even until now is Ramon Fernandez, and he was glad that the Finals MVP award in each conference in Asia’s first professional league was named after his former Toyota teammate – The Ramon Fernandez Trophy.
“Ramon deserves such honor, he’s one of a kind,” said Segura who waged countless of memorable battles with Fernandez, Robert Jaworski and Francis Arnaiz against bitter rival Crispa during the great years of the pro league,
Fernandez, according to Segura, is super blessed because of his sharp peripheral vision, not to mention his elegant moves that many aspiring players tried to emulate but failed.
“He can shoot from afar and can also operate inside because he was so smart,” added Segura.
“Compared to Fil-foreign players, Ramon will still stand out. The only Fil-Am that I know who is almost as versatile as Ramon is Danny Seigle. But Ramon can shoot, rebound and assist,” added Segura, who retired in early 80s with four PBA championships – three with Toyota and one with U/TexWranglers .
“Hindi alam ng mga bata ngayon how good Ramon was during his prime. Parang 19 or 20 pa lang yata siya ng pumasok sa PBA,” said Segura with a smile. “Pero we can’t compare Ramon to June Mar (Fajardo). Iba si June Mar dahil sa height nya.”
For the uninitiated, the 6-foot-4 Fernandez is a proud owner of four MVP Trophies – the first one to achieve the milestone – apart from 19 championships. He highlighted his legendary career with a Grand Slam in 1989.
Known as “El Presidente,” Fernandez personally awarded the Ramon Fernandez Trophy to Fajardo after the gentle giant helped power San Miguel Beer to the PBA PH Cup championship.
