'The Captain', 'Black Superman' lead PBA Hall of Fame 2011 inductees

This year's PBA Hall of Fame class will have "The Captain" and the "Black Superman" as its major inductees. Four-time MVP Alvin Patrimonio and the flamboyant Billy Ray Bates lead the seven personalities to be included in the institution that honors selected former players and figures of Asia's first ever play-for-pay league. Joining Patrimonio and Bates in the 2011 inductees at the Hall of Fame—in its fourth installation that began in 2005—are former MVP Freddie Hubalde, the soft-spoken Crispa Redmanizer forward famous for his bank shot, and Tommy Manotoc, the brilliant golfer turned coach who led the Crispa franchise to its second PBA Grand Slam in 1983. The rest of the 2011 Class include the late Commissioner Mariano Yenko, former Mariwasa coach and national team mentor Valentin "Tito" Eduque, and Vintage Enterprises CEO and president Carlos "Bobong" Velez who held the PBA television franchise for more than 20 years and was cited for his major contribution in making the pro league an institution in the everyday lives of millions of Filipinos. All seven will be inducted when the league opens its 37th season on October 2. Bates, the former Portland Trailblazer stalwart who's now 55, is reportedly planing in for the induction ceremony. Patrimonio served as Purefoods' franchise player during his playing years that spanned from 1988 to 2005. Along the way, he won seven championships with the team and bagged the MVP award four times in 1991, 93, 94 and 97, as he became only the second player to do the trick after the great Ramon Fernandez. Bates was already a hands-down Hall of Famer by the time he first played in the country in 1983. Quick, flashy, and deadly, Bates led Crispa to the 1983 Reinforced Conference title, and later teamed up with Larry Demic in the Open Conference that capped the Redmanizers' second Grand Slam bid. In 1986, the "Black Superman" returned and formed a deadly tandem with Michael Hackett as the duo gave Robert Jaworski his first coaching title after Ginebra San Miguel beat Manila Beer for the Open Conference crown. - JVP, GMA News