Former Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) player Manuel "Maui" Huelar was gunned down in Bacolod City Thursday afternoon, multiple reports say.
A former barangay captain of Brgy. 35 in Bacolod, Huelar was reportedly killed after being shot in the back by unknown assailants inside a gym in Villamonte. The suspects immediately fled the scene.
Huelar was best known for his stint with the Negros Slashers of the MBA,where he teamed up with league MVP John Ferriols, Johnedel Cardel, Reynel Hugnatan and Jack Tanuan. The team went all the way to the finals in the league's inaugural season in 1998.
Early Thursday evening, Hugnatan posted a photograph of the Slashers on his Facebook page with the caption "Rest in peace my brother Maui Huelar 'The Flying Fish' #MH15 Sad day sa mga Slashers family".
Following his stint in the MBA, Huelar tried his luck in the PBA, where he was signed by FedEx as a reserve.
The former cager was elected village chief of the said barangay before he was arrested for sale and illegal possession of drugs in a buy-bust operation in November 2016. He was released in December 2018 following a plea bargaining.
According to a report published by Sun Star Bacolod in that same month, Huelar also implicated several Negros Occidental politicians in 2017, linking them to the drug trade.
Cardel, who had been teammates with Huelar during their entire stay in Negros, was shocked by the incident.
"He was a very nice teammate and was a great friend," said Cardel in a phone call with ESPN5.
"After our playing years, we used to chat sparingly and he would invite us to go to Bacolod, but we had not talked with each other recently. Rest in peace, my friend."