Robert Jaworski

Robert Vincent Salazar Jaworski Sr. and was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2005.

Early life and college career

Robert Jaworski was born in Baguio on March 8, 1946. He was born to a Polish American father, Jaworski grew up in Beata, Pandacan. In high school, he played other sports such as baseball and softball. He also represented his high school, Roxas High School, in swimming and track and field events during public school meets. Before finishing high school, he grew taller, which led to him pursuing basketball.

At first, Jaworski tried out for the FEU Tamaraws. However, the roster for FEU was already full. Arturo "Turo" Valenzona, a player on FEU, saw his potential to play multiple positions and recommended him to coach Baby Dalupan. Playing under Dalupan, he led them to three straight titles from 1965 to 1967. He also led them to several National Seniors titles, a tournament where they competed not just against college athletes, but also against commercial teams, government-sponsored teams, and even teams sponsored by movie and recording companies.

Amateur career

YCO Painters

In 1967, Jaworski joined the YCO Painters under coach Carlos Loyzaga in the now-defunct semi-pro league Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA). He played for YCO during the 1967 National Seniors and National Invitational, both of which were won by YCO. That year, he and veteran internationalist Narciso Bernardo were named as members of the Mythical Five.

Meralco Reddy Kilowatts

Jaworski then transferred to the newly formed Meralco Reddy Kilowatts (owned by public utility Meralco) in 1968 but was unable to play due to lack of release papers. He finally suited up for Meralco in 1970. He won the MVP award during the 1970 Presidential Cup.

In 1971, Jaworski was an MVP candidate once again, as he was the highest-scoring Filipino player with 15.2 points per game and also averaged 10.6 assists, 6.2 rebounds during the Reinforced (Open) Conference. During the All-Filipino Conference, he was averaging 15.7 points (eighth-best in the league), 10.1 assists (second only to YCO's Freddie Webb), 8.5 rebounds, and 3.0 steals (fifth-highest in the league) in eight games. MICAA banned them for two years, but the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) raised it to a lifetime ban. resembling the "Big O" tag given to Oscar Robertson who Jaworski played like.

Komatsu / Toyota Comets

Jaworski and Reynoso, with other former Meralco players, Fort Acuña, Francis Arnaiz and Orlando Bauzon formed the core of the newly formed Komatsu Komets (later renamed the Toyota Comets). They first competed in National Seniors tournaments. He then led the Comets to the 1973 MICAA title. He later became the acknowledged leader of the team and a major player in Toyota's nine PBA championships. He led the team to a title in the 1977 Invitational over a guest team from Brazil. This was done despite the presence of tall imports with no height limit, and with Fernandez on the team.

Toyota made the 1980 Open Conference finals, but they lost to the U/Tex Wranglers in five games. In their matchup against Crispa during the 1980 All-Filipino Conference, Jaworski was benched in the first half. This led to their coach, Fort Acuña, to be fired at halftime. Team manager Don Pablo Carlos took over coaching duties. He averaged only 10.4 points, 4.9 assists and 4.8 rebounds, all PBA career-lows at the time. In his absence, Fernandez stepped up, leading Toyota to win two titles. Toyota didn't win a title that season, as Crispa won another grand slam. This was also the start of the feud between him and Fernandez, which would fuel the Manila Clasico rivalry.

Jaworski and Arnaiz turned the moribund franchise into a competitive one almost overnight when in the First All-Filipino conference of the 1984 season, they led the team to a runner-up finish against powerhouse Crispa. He was brought to Medical City, where he received around 10 stitches. Without Jaworski, NCC's lead went up as much as 15 points. Late in the third quarter, he made his return to the game to the delight of Ginebra fans. He then led a fourth quarter comeback by scoring all of his 17 points in that quarter to lead Ginebra to the 99–96 win. Ironically, Jaworski owns the PBA record for playing the shortest time in a PBA game, at one second. Ginebra then won Game 5, 130–120, after being down by 18 for its first PBA title. This made him the first playing coach to win a PBA title.

In 1988, Jaworski won his first and only All Filipino championship in a controversial championship against the Purefoods Hotdogs, led by Fernandez who also coached the team in the previous (Open) conference before relinquishing the job to Cris Calilan early in the All Filipino conference. This became the climax of the rift between Jaworski and Fernandez. In Game 1 of that finals, Añejo Rum upended Purefoods to gain initial lead in the series. Purefoods owner Jaime Zobel De Ayala and president Renato Buhain publicly accused Fernandez of not playing up to par in Game 1 and ordered his benching for the entire series. Because of this controversy, Añejo Rum went on to win the series, 3–1, including the deciding Game 4 where Jaworski led his team with 28 points, including the basket that sent the game into overtime, and four clutch free throws.

In 1991, Jaworski won his third title at the expense of Formula Shell in Game 7 of the First Conference. In that deciding game, he inbounded from the endline to Rudy Distrito with 4 seconds remaining. Distrito made a difficult, twisting, off-balanced and falling shot over the outstretched arms of Paras to pull off a two-point win. He ended up with 13 points, seven rebounds and eight feeds in an all-around effort that stood out given his age of 45 years old. This marked the first time in the history of the PBA that a team came back from a 3–1 deficit to win the championship.

From 1992 to 1995, Ginebra suffered a title drought owing to budgetary constraints experienced by the franchise. Jaworski worked with veterans and rookie players alike in trying to earn respectability during this period. In 1995, a PBA record was established when Jaworski took in his eldest son Robert Jaworski, Jr. in the second round of the rookie draft, making this the only time when a father and son played for the same team. However, the two never got to play together as Jaworski was content coaching the team while Robert Jr. played as a starter.

It was in 1996 when the breakthrough came in for Ginebra through significant roster moves. They selected 6'9" Marlou Aquino as the top draft pick of that year's draft and also brough in free agent point guard Bal David after the duo led the national team to the gold medal in the 1995 SEA Games. He didn't play during the 1998 season to prepare for his political campaign.

Jaworski remained as coach of the team until April 1998 when he announced his intention of running for the Philippine Senate in May that year. Jaworski wound up eighth overall in the Senate race, making him one of the few cagers to become a senator – following the footsteps of Ambrosio Padilla and Freddie Webb. They regained the ABC crown (their second FIBA Asia title) and went to the 1974 FIBA World Championship.

Jaworski, after being appointed national team coach by the BAP, later selected Fernandez in the team to represent the Philippines in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, China. Fernandez was among 12 PBA players personally chosen by Jaworski to lead the charge for the team – others included Paras, Alvin Patrimonio, Allan Caidic, Samboy Lim, Yves Dignadice, Hector Calma, Ronnie Magsanoc, Zaldy Realubit and the Big J's players with Añejo Rum – Dante Gonzalgo, Chito Loyzaga and Rey Cuenco. This team salvaged the silver medal against host China in the final, losing 90–76.

Player profile

Jaworski had impressive physical attributes. He had huge hands, which led to one of his earlier nicknames "Big Hands". He also had high leaping ability, similar to Julius Erving's. Because of his size, he at first played the center position, and posted up his defenders even as a guard. He was known for sliding his feet under jump shooters.

• declared the Mount Kitanglad Range in the province of Bukidnon a protected area;
• established the Northern Sierra Madre Mountain Range in Isabela as a protected area;
• established the Batanes Group of Islands as a protected area;
• established Mount Kanlaon as a protected area;
• regulated the ownership, possession and sale of chainsaws.

Jaworski also introduced legislation to protect the country's national marine sanctuaries and filed a bill imposing strict penalties on oil pollution damage on Philippine waters. He co-authored the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. He also starred in television shows such as Prrt! Foul! and Manila Files.

On May 30, 2003, 23 years after the end of the Crispa-Toyota rivalry, Jaworski made an appearance at a reunion game in the Araneta Coliseum, alongside fellow players from both teams.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Manila Times reported on February 13, 2007, of Jaworski's possible return in the PBA as coach for either the Air21 Express or the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals for the 2007 PBA Fiesta Conference but declined to accept the offer since talks stalled before any contract offer was made. After the tournament, talks resurfaced again between Jaworski and the Air21 management. However, with the resignation of Noli Eala as league commissioner, Jaworski was one of the names mentioned as replacements for the said post although no formal offer had been made. In the end though, Jaworski did not accept either offer and chose to retire from the public eye with his family. He was once again considered for the role of league commissioner in 2015.

In 2014, UE considered him for the title of UAAP commissioner for Season 77. They also considered him for the role of head coach of the Red Warriors.

Legacy and impact

Jaworski played 23 seasons in the PBA, a record he holds along with Asi Taulava. He is also the PBA's all-time leader in assists with 5,825 assists. That same year, PHLPost honored him with a set of commemorative stamps. He and Fernandez were then honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at 2022 PSA Annual Awards. In 2024, Jaworski was awarded with the PBA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Taking a cue from the NBA logo which was inspired from a photo of a dribbling Jerry West, the PBA updated its logo in 1993 to feature a silhouette of Jaworski in a dribbling pose.

Sports publications have consistently included Jaworski in their rankings of the greatest PBA players and Ginebra players. In 2012, InterAKTV ranked him as the top Ginebra player in history. They also ranked him as the top point guard in PBA history.

Personal life

Since 1968, Jaworski has been married to Evelyn Bautista-Revilla, the daughter of actor Ramon Revilla Sr. He would sometimes give locker room speeches when Ginebra was down in the first half of finals games. These proved to be effective in motivating the team, such as when Ginebra forced a Game 7 during the 2013–14 Philippine Cup semis.

After retirement, Jaworski stayed in shape by playing tennis three to five times a week and going swimming. As of 2024, his condition is improving.