In the history of the PBA, only a few were considered as among the best two-way players the league has ever produced.

Philip Cezar should be on top of the list.

The PBA only started introducing the All-Defensive Team in 1985, but Cezar had been included in the elite squad for four straight years. Had it been instituted during the PBA’s creation in 1975, “The Scholar” would have been automatically included in the list and would have gone with the most number of membership.

He is the second in the all-time list in shot blocks (next to Mon Fernandez), thus he was named as the original Tapal King.

Barely standing 6-foot-3, Cezar would hold his own, even against bigger imports, at the peak of his career.

His long-time teammate, Bogs Adornado, could attest at how athletic Cezar was despite his lean frame. They were teammates with Crispa from the early 1970s in the MICAA until the three-time MVP was shipped to U/Tex.

When Crispa disbanded before the start of the 1985 season, Cezar and Adornado were reunited at Shell and together, they played there for two seasons.

Other than those years, Cezar was Adornado’s most feared defender.

“Si Philip mabalis umakyat sa ere,” said Adornado. “He had long arms. Iba yung talent ni Philip. Atsaka si Philip kapag tumalon, parang bola. Dati, sa practice namin sa Crispa, after you make free throws 10 in a row, you will jump to touch the ring 10 times. Si Philip kapag nag-touch ng ring, pagbaba, hindi bumubuwelo. Tumatalbog-talbog yung paa. Yung iba, bumubuwelo pa. Siya, walang buwelo.”

“Well-coordinated ang moves niya. Padadaanin ka nun, pero hahabulin ka sa taas. I experienced that situation.”

But he’s a highly-intelligent player as his moniker suggests.

Other than his basketball-smarts and his defensive prowess, Cezar is also a great all-around player on offense.

On fast break, he can sprint like a gazelle and finished the play with a graceful lay up. On the post, he can outsmart bigger opponents. He also has a knack to hit the outside shots, even as far as the three-point region.

So talented was Cezar that he even beat Fernandez, arguably considered the best player of all-time, in a one-on-one tournament twice as part of the league’s sideshow.

On this day in PBA history, June 21, 1987, Cezar cemented his status as among the league’s top offensive players when he became the fifth member of the league’s 10,000-point club. It happened during Game 4 of the best-of-seven championship series between the Great Taste Coffee Makers and the Tanduay Rhum Makers.

Cezar played for the Crispa Redmanizers during the franchise’s entire 10-season stay in the PBA, winning 13 championships with them, including the historic grand slam. He would win another championship with Great Taste in the 1987 All-Filipino and the 1991 First Conference with Anejo before retiring for good.

He retired as the sixth all-time scoring leader with 12,077 points and sixth in rebounds (5,834), ninth in assists (3,130) and 15th in steals (599).

Cezar was named to the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players and was among the first inductee of the Hall of Fame in 2005.