Goa Basketball Association has been mourning the loss of their treasurer Orlando Mascarenhas and his equally talented brother Oscar Mascarenhas. Orlando succumbed to COVID-19 on Wednesday just three days after the demise of his brother to the same fate.
Orlando (59) and his older brother Oscar (61) both have been prominent figures in the revival of basketball in Goa for years. Orlando had been a long-time treasurer, coach, player, and office bearer of the GBA.
Family and friends of the two are still reeling from so close a passing of them both and are saddened that they’ve lost two beloved gems much before their time.
The duo was quite famous in the capital city and was well-loved. They lived in the city for decades before they recently moved to Povorim.
Both were alumni of the first Don Bosco Panaji and Goa Engineering College Farmagudi and engineers by profession. They were distinguished in their careers and in basketball. Orlando served as the general manager of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Oscar served as a free-lance consultant before which he worked for the Dempo group of companies.
The Goan tennis prodigy Natasha Palha is their niece.
Orlando was one of the three goan players to be selected to play for the Bombay University basketball team in 1982. He has played for some prominent Basketball Teams from back in the day: Dempo Sports Club, Salgaoncar Sports Club, MRF, and Don Bosco Oratory, Panjim. At other local tournaments, Orlando played for a team named ‘Professional’ getting together other talented players who could not be part of the regular basketball teams.
Orlando was part of various grassroots training at the Don Bosco Oratory and several other schools and sports centers. He was known to be a contributor and a judicious official, ready to assist in any basketball tournament. “He was a fine player, thorough disciplinarian, and a good gentleman. He was polite and always ready to help and promote basketball” said Agnelo Dias, former state Basketball Player.
Sandeep Heble, Executive Committee Member of the GBA, stated,” When the basketball scene in Goa was down, near dormant and hit with feuds and factionalism, he was one of the few active members who kept the game alive and going and was a prominent member during the “revival movement”.”
The GBA is also grieving the passing of the older sibling Oscar, they said that the basketball community in goa is saddened by his demise, Oscar himself was quite a proficient basketball player.
The two engineer brothers who have been heroes in the real sense of the words will be missed dearly by not only their families but also the entire Goan basketball fraternity, they have helped shape the basketball community in Goa and bring it to light in the best way possible.
