BASKETBALL great Avelino 'Samboy' Lim has been rushed to a hospital unconscious after collapsing just minutes after coming out of a PBA Legends exhibition game at the Ynares Center in Pasig City.

According to fellow PBA great Nelson Asaytono, Lim was doing some stretching in the sidelines shortly after being pulled out of the game by Legends coach Bogs Adornado when he collapsed.

Before that, the 53-year-old former national team standout played about six minutes in the first quarter of the game pitting the Legends selection against the Resorts World team.

Lim, a known fitness buff long after he retired from the PBA with San Miguel Beer in 1997, was still unconscious when he was rushed to the nearby Medical City, Asaytono added.

The game was called off after the incident.

Among those anxiously keeping vigil at the hospital was former MVP Allan Caidic, one of Lim's best friends and longtime teammate who was also playing in the benefit game.

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Lim and Caidic were standouts of the Northern Consolidated-backed national team coached by Ron Jacobs and backed by Danding Cojuangco who won the Asian basketball championship in 1985.

They also played together in the Joe Lipa-coached Philippine team that bagged the bronze medal in the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul and later teamed up again in the PBA with San Miguel Beer.

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As soon as fellow players tweeted about the incident, #prayersforsamboy hashtags flooded the social media as friends and fans expressed concern for one of the most-loved heroes of the pro league.