Valentin Eduque

Valentín "Tito" M. Eduque (August 26, 1927 – November 8, 2001) was a Filipino basketball coach and player.

Career

He was a member of the 1946 University of Santo Tomas varsity team, among his teammates were Ramon Campos, Jr., Primitivo Martinez, Julian Malonso and Dr. Jose Genato. The Glowing Goldies squad was undefeated in capturing the UAAP crown. Eduque also starred for La Salle and led the Archers to the 1947 NCAA title, his Archer teammates were Eddie Decena, Eddie Sharuff, Jose Mendieta, Jun Inigo, and Jess Pimentel.

Eduque saw action for the YCO Painters under coach Leo Prieto from 1952 to 1957 and then took over as playing coach. In 1964, he led the Philippines at Olympic qualifying tournament in Yokohama in 1964. He won the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) as the Philippines' coach in Manila in 1973.

Later known as "the man in white" for his penchant for wearing white clothing, Eduque was married to Inday Vargas, daughter of Jorge B. Vargas. He had five children with Inday. After the death of Inday, he later married Flor Valenzona, with whom he had three children.

In 2000, he was cited, along with coach Baby Dalupan for their contributions to basketball and were given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the National Basketball Hall of Fame whose Executive Director Jose Zubiri hosted the second enshrinement affair at the Peninsula Hotel in Makati.

Death

Eduque died on November 8, 2001.