By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Two of the greatest players to ever don the Magnolia uniform in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will have their jersey retired this December 25.
Big man Marc Pingris and guard Peter June Simon, who helped the Magnolia franchise (formerly Purefoods and San Mig Coffee Mixers) clinch nine total PBA championships, will have their jerseys formally retired months after announcing their retirement.
Forming one of the most lethal big threes in the PBA together with James Yap, the duo was present during their prestigious grand slam feat way back in 2014.
Pingris was considered to be one of the greatest big men to ever play in the league and will forever be remembered for the relentless energy, hustle, and leadership he brought to the table.
He was also a member of the legendary Gilas Pilipinas pool last 2013 when they broke the Korean curse in the FIBA level and ended up winning the silver medal during the Asia Championships where they advanced to the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Simon was known as the PBA’s “Scoring Apostle” for his wide array of offensive moves that dazzled the league.
Simon was also one of the few players responsible for the popularization of the one-handed mid-range floater during his glory days which was tagged to be one of the most graceful offensive moves in the game, one of the main reasons why he was selected eight times to the PBA All-Star game.
The dynamic duo was supposed to reinforce Neuva Ecija in the 2021 Chooks-to-Go MPBL Invitational as confirmed by coach Charles Tiu.
However, their plan of coming out of retirement didn’t work out as their names weren’t included in the final lineup of the team.
