What happened to Nap Gutierrez? Tributes pour in as veteran sports columnist passes away

Well-known sports columnist Nap Gutierrez recently passed away at the age of 62 on June 29, 2023. He was suffering from some illness, which eventually led to his demise. Nap also suffered from a heart attack before the Covid-19 pandemic and was using a wheelchair until the time of his death.

Several people who knew Gutierrez and his work over the years paid tribute to him on different social media platforms. News personality Akosii Gan shared a post on Instagram in Filipino. The translated version of the post says that Nap was the first showbiz/sports columnist he met in his first year in the broadcast industry.

Nap Gutierrez was the host of a weekly noontime show and other popular shows over the years

Also known as Napoleon "Nap" Gutierrez, the veteran journalist worked at the Pilipino Star Ngayon and PM as a writer of weekly columns. He was also the editor of the magazine, Basketball Weekly.

Basketball Weekly became so popular at one point that he made a weekly noontime show based on it, that aired on Saturdays from 12 to 1 pm on RPN-9. The journalist pursued his career as a player agent and signed a contract with the Purefoods franchise in 1991. It was one of the biggest player contracts in the league.

He previously worked at The Builder as a sports editor and even tried his luck in basketball, reportedly playing for the Mapua Cardinals in the NCAA. Former team member of the Mapua Cardinals, Jojo Peralta, also confirmed the same and said:

Nap Gutierrez worked at Movie Magazine as a movie writer and talk show host. He was known for his work in the talk show Eye to Eye, and before his death, he was a publicist to various PBA players and athletes, including Terrence Romeo.

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Nap Gutierrez gained recognition for his work in different publications over the many years he spent in the industry as a reputed journalist. Naturally, people were heartbroken to learn of his passing. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his demise.

Detailed information on Nap's family is not available at the time of writing this article.

The news of Nap Gutierrez's death comes after Mario Dumaual's demise on July 5 at the age of 64. The latter died from complications of septic shock and had a fungal infection, according to his family. He was known for his work in the newspaper Malaya and the Philippine commercial broadcast network, ABS-CBN.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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