[2] Ding, as he is called by his friends before he was teased 'kalembang', started his basketball career in 1933 at the age of 16.
In 1946, Fulgencio joined the famed Maurice Enterprise squad and his team won their first MICAA championship by defeating the star-studded Sampaguita Pictures quintet.
By 1948, JRC coach Mateo Adao has moulded a fighting team that captured the NCAA title after a 15-year campaign.
The Tams won the opener and in the second game, FEU coach Martin Dino fielded Fulgencio, who was also a playmaker, as a forward.
When Ding got his commerce degree in 1952, he announced his retirement and transferred from the court to the bench and mentored the Tamaraws to second place in the UAAP that year.