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(UPDATE) CARLOS 'Caloy' Loyzaga, the greatest basketball player the Philippines has ever produced, will be joining his global peers on August 23 when he is inducted posthumously to the FIBA Hall of Fame (HoF) at the close of the FIBA World Congress at Sofitel, two days before the start of the 2023 World Cup which the country is lead co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia.
Known as the “Big Difference” during his reign in the 50s for his singular effect on the game, Loyzaga will be the second Filipino to be enshrined to the FIBA Hall of Fame after compatriot and two-time Olympic coach Dionisio Calvo, who was inducted as a contributor in March 2007.
Loyzaga will have company in the current list 7-foot-5 Chinese superstar and former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.
Loyzaga led the Philippine team to back-to-back Olympiads — in Helsinki in 1952 (9th place) and Melbourne (7th place) — and basked in the glow of the bronze medal during the 1954 FIBA World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, where he was named to the five-man All-Tournament Team after posting the third-highest scoring average in the competition.
On the way to the third place finish, the Philippines beat Paraguay, Formosa, Israel, Canada, France and Uruguay.
Completing the latest batch of inductees are players Amaya Valdemoro, Yuko Oga, Penny Taylor, Katrina McClain, Wlamir Marques, Sonny Hendrawan, Angelo Monteiro dos Santos Victoriano and the late Zurab Sakandelidze, and coaches Valerie Garnier and Alessandro Gamba.
Former national and PBA player Chito Loyzaga paid tribute to those who made possible his father's inclusion in the elite class.
“On behalf of the Loyzaga family, we would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to everyone who contributed, assisted and supported the induction of Carlos 'Caloy' M. Loyzaga to the FIBA Hall of Fame. Maraming salamat! Mabuhay ang Atletang Pilipino!” Loyzaga said in a statement released following the announcement early this month.
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Credit belongs to : www.manilatimes.net
