Gido Babilonia

Vegildo Quezon T. Babilonia (August 19, 1966 - January 14, 2007) was a Filipino basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association.

High School/College Career

Babilonia played for the Letran Squires under Coach Fred Reyes from 1981 to 1984. Despite the team's height advantage—four players standing above six feet—and a talented back court (Alfrancis Chua, Eric Enad, Elmer Bolabola, Raymond Reyes), the Squires lost to the Trinity College Baby Stallions in the 1984 NCAA junior division finals. He was named MVP of the NCAA junior division in 1984.

Together with Alfrancis Chua, he moved to the University of Santo Tomas and played with the Glowing Goldies where he was part of UST’s “Triple Tower” in the 1980s, together with Bobby Jose and future UST Growling Tigers assistant coach Rabbi Tomacruz and dominated the UAAP.

Professional career

He started his PBA career in 1990 with Purefoods Hotdogs and was a backup to Jerry Codiñera. He was then shipped to Shell where he briefly played as Benjie Paras’ sub. While playing for Pepsi Cola Hotshots, he blossomed under Coach Derrick Pumaren. After which, he was traded to San Miguel where he became a fixture of the injury-prone, post-grand slam era of the Beermen.^[1]

He then traded his Beermen jersey to join former PBA subs like Mike Otto, Gilbert Castillo, and Bong Ravena as Pasig Blue Pirates in the newly formed Metropolitan Basketball Association in 1998. He was averaging in double figures for the first time in his pro career.

When the MBA was on the verge of disbanding in 2000, he traveled back to the PBA where played for Mobiline Phone Pals and FedEx Express.^[2]

He had PBA career averages of 21.3 minutes, 4.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in a 10-year career that was put on hold in 1996 because of heart problems.

Personal life

His parents are Mr. & Mrs. Pablito Babilonia. He was married to Narissa Cheryl and they have 3 children, namely, Thomas Isiah, current Ateneo Blue Eagle cager Gideon Ira^[3] and Seth Isaac. He was close friends with the Pumaren brothers, Dindo, Franz and Derrick.

Death

Babilonia was rushed to the hospital in the early hours of January 12, 2007 after he complained of chest pain and vomiting. Two days later, he died around 4:20 a.m. at the Medical City hospital in Pasig City due to embolus (pulmonary) blood clot rupture. He was 40. According to his father, Pablito, he had not had a medical check-up for two years. Furthermore, his father added that he had been really dedicated to his work as assistant coach in the University of the East and his business (B&B Fish Dealer) that he overlooked his health.^[4]

His remains were laid to rest at the Holy Garden Memorial Park in Antipolo.

References