Terry Saldaña

Saldaña was known for his blue-collar work on the hardcourt, defending the opposing team's best player, collaring rebounds on both ends, diving for loose balls, setting up bone-crunching picks to free his teammates and even acting as the team enforcer. He was also a very capable scorer, with an accurate perimeter jumper and excellent pivot moves. Early in his career, he was known as the "Plastic Man" for his twisting hang-time shots inside the paint. In his first year with the Gilbey's Gin team in 1983, Saldaña easily emerged as the team's top local performer, leading his team in scoring and rebounding, thus, becoming the very first Most Improved Player Awardee in the PBA.

In 1987, Saldaña suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in the PBA when he overextended and violently twisted his knee when he landed badly while trying to block a shot attempt by, ironically, his namesake Marte Saldańa, then of

Death

Saldaña died on February 1, 2023, nearly 23 years after he retired, following a "lingering

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