74 and counting

JA-WOR-SKI. JA-WOR-SKI.
One of the greatest players in Philippine basketball history, Robert (Sonny) Jaworski, marks his 74th birthday on Sunday, March 8.
Greatness came early for The Big J, the son of a Polish father and a Filipino mother who as teenager was already making waves not only in the local cage scene but also in the international stage.
Jaworski starred for the University of the East during the mid-1960s, lifting the Red Warriors to a number of championships in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He attracted so much attention with his boyish charm and high-energy skill set.
While still in college, the wide-bodied 6-foot guard with unusually huge hands and feat was recruited to play for the tradition-laden Yco Redshirts/Painters in the prestigious post-graduate, semi-professional league Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA).
Together with another blossoming UAAP star from the University of Santo Tomas, the late Danilo Florencio, Jaworski was selected to the Philippine national squad that saw action during the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand at age 20 and the 1967 Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) tournament (later to be called the FIBA Asia Championship and now known as the FIBA Asia Cup), where the country defeated host South Korea to snare the gold medal.
The Baguio City-born Jaworski only had a brief stint with Yco before transferring to the then-Lopez-owned Meralco Reddy Kilowatts franchise in the MICAA.
He later donned the national colors again during the 1968 Mexico Olympics, 1970 Bangkok Asian Games, 1971 Tokyo ABC tournament, 1973 Manila ABC tournament, 1974 Tehran Asian Games, and the 1974 World Basketball Championship (which would be known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup starting 2014) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In 1973, the Big J was picked to banner the newly-formed Komatsu Comets outfit (which was composed mostly of players from the disbanded Meralco team) following his reinstatement from an 18-month suspension by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (then the national basketball federation recognized by the International Basketball Federation or the FIBA) that was brought about by a hardcourt brawl involving Jaworski and the late Alberto (Big Boy) Reynoso against referees Jose Obias and Dr. Edilberto Cruz during the 1971 MICAA finals between the Reddy Kilowatts and the eventual champion Crispa Redmanizers.
The Komatsu Comets were one of only six franchises in MICAA history to capture the crown in their maiden campaign.
Under the Toyota banner, Jaworski hopped along with the Comets when the professional league Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) was established in April 1975.
Jaworski won a number of PBA conference titles with the Comets/Tamaraws before the Toyota franchise folded up after nine seasons. He subsequently latched on with the Gilbey’s Gin franchise in 1984 then became its playing coach when the club changed its name to Ginebra San Miguel a year later.
The Big J held the dual positions with the then-Palanca-owned franchise until 1998 when he gave up basketball to run for one of the 12 Philippine Senate seats at stake during the national elections that year. He ranked No. 8 overall to gain a six-year Senate term.
Until today, Jaworski occasionally attends PBA games featuring Barangay Ginebra but he has so far declined to return to the pro league in any capacity with any of the 12 current member franchises.