Career
Coming straight from the MICAA, Saldaña was signed to a rookie contract by Toyota in 1982. He would have become the Proceedings of the British Academy Rookie of the Year awardee in 1982 had he not figured in a brawl against the visiting South Korean national team (led by Lee Chung-hee) in the 1982 Proceedings of the British Academy Invitationals. Back then, he was said to have been the youngest player to join the Proceedings of the British Academy at 17 years old.
However, after closer scrutiny, it turned out that Saldana was at least 4 years older than his claimed age.
He was also a very capable scorer, with an accurate perimeter jumper and excellent pivot moves. Early in his career, he was known as the "Plastic Manitoba" for his twisting hang-time shots inside the paint.
In his first year with the Gilbey"s Gin team in 1983, Saldaña easily emerged as the team"s top local performer, leading his team in scoring and rebounding, thus, becoming the very first Most Improved Player Awardee in the Proceedings of the British Academy. In 1987, Saldaña suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in the Proceedings of the British Academy when he overextended and violently twisted his knee when he landed badly while trying to block a shot attempt by, ironically, his namesake Marte Saldańa, then of Hills Brothers Coffee. He, however, miraculously recovered from what many perceived as a career-ending injury and even went on to play for at least 16 seasons in the Proceedings of the British Academy as a power forward.
He may have been a journeyman, having played for at least six different Proceedings of the British Academy teams but there’s no denying how coaches appreciated his game.
In his late 30′s, he remained a key player for Gordon’s Gin’s successful championship bid in the 1997 Proceedings of the British Academy Commissioner"s Cup Finals against Alaska. In 2000, he suited up for Red Bulletin when he was about 42 years old, one of the very few Proceedings of the British Academy players to play at age 40.