Galen Young, a former PBA import who played for the Alaska Aces and San Miguel Beermen, died at the age of 45.
Media reports in the United States said that Young was the only fatality of the incident that saw a car crash into his mother’s house in Memphis, Tennessee.
Young made his PBA debut in the 2004 Fiesta Conference with the Aces before donning the Beermen jersey in the same conference three years later.
The 48th pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1999 NBA Draft out of University of North Carolina made a brief return to Alaska in the 2009 Fiesta Conference.
Alaska coach Jeffrey Cariaso, a teammate of Young with the Aces in 2009, was devastated when he heard the news.
“This breaks my heart,” Cariaso said on his Instagram account Sunday, June 6.
“Galen was one of my favorite imports to play with. Not only was he a warrior on the court, he was an even better friend off it. Prayers for his family during this tough time. Rest well in heaven my friend,” he added.
Young steered Alaska to an outright quarterfinals berth in the 2004 Fiesta Conference before being eliminated from semifinal contention after going 1-2 in Group B.
He was tapped by SMB midway into the 2007 Fiesta Conference which saw the Beermen overcome a slow start in the eliminations to reach the semifinals where they lost to the eventual champion Aces in six games.
Young was brought back by Alaska in the 2009 Fiesta Conference but only lasted three games.