Basketball legend and former senator Robert Jaworski Jr., arguably the most popular basketball player of his generation, is recovering from an illness.
Family members said this in a statement as they shed light on the current health status of the 75-year-old Jaworski, who played in the Philippine Basketball Association for 23 years, from Toyota, where he had nine titles as a player, to Ginebra San Miguel, which he led to four pro crowns as a playing coach.
The family revealed that Jaworski, who recently tested negative for COVID-19, was hospitalized for pneumonia last year. They added that he recently experienced difficulty in regaining his strength, weight and normal well-being due to a non-life threatening blood abnormality, which doctors discovered in 2016.
But Jaworski, who celebrated his birthday last March 8, is now improving.
“He is making good progress and is slowly moving forward,” said family members in a social media announcement.
Late this month, Jaworski will be enshrined to the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame.
Jaworski, along with multi-titled swimmer Eric Buhain and track superstar Elma Muros-Posadas, will lead the fourth batch of athletes who will be given recognition by the Philippine Sports Commission for their contributions in Philippines sports.
Jaworski had a sterling career as a basketball player with the national squad, as a member of the University of the East Warriors during his collegiate days and then as a pro with Toyota (1973-1983) and Ginebra (1984-1998).
He began endearing himself to fans when he was named Most Valuable Player of the pro league in 1978, as he averaged 20 points, 12 assists and close to nine rebounds per game.
Jaworski also steered a team of pros to a silver medal in the 1990 Beijing Asian Games.