Philippines at the FISU World University Games

Philippines at the FISU World University Games
IOC code	PHI
National federation	Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines
Website	www.fessap.net
Medals Ranked 72nd	Gold 2 Silver 3 Bronze 1 Total 6
Summer appearances
1967 1970–1985 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2025
Winter appearances
2019 2023 2025

The Philippines has participated at the FISU World University Games, formerly known as the Universiade until 2019. It debuted at the 1967 Summer Universiade. From 1967 until 2007, athletes representing the country were sent by the University Athletic Association of the Philippines with sanction from Philippine Olympic Committee. Since 2011 it is the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP), a member of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), that has been sending competitors representing the country at the Universiade.

History

The Philippines first participated in the Universiade at the 1967 Summer Universiade in Tokyo. ^[1] From 1967 until 2007, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines sent athletes to the Universiade under the directive of the Philippine Olympic Committee. ^[2]

From the 2011 edition, the Philippine delegation has been sanctioned and sent by the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines which was granted membership by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) in 2009. ^[3] The UAAP attempted to gain membership at the FISU and replace FESSAP as the Philippines' member organization in the international sports body, but FISU affirmed the membership of FESSAP in 2013. ^[4]

The Philippines won its first gold medal at the 2013 Summer Universiade courtesy of Wesley So of chess.

The country made its debut in the Winter Universiade in the 2019 edition held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The Philippines competed in figure skating with Misha Fabian as the national delegation's sole competitor. ^[5]

Team sports

The Philippines has sent athletes to compete in team sports such as basketball and volleyball. These teams are not necessarily organized or sanctioned by member associations of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Basketball

The Philippines' last participation in the Universiade in the 20th century was in 1967 Summer Universiade when the UE Red Warriors of the University of the East played as the country's Universiade basketball team. The UE team was led by Robert Jaworski and Danny Florencio. ^[6] The team placed fifth out of eight teams in the final standing. ^[7]

The Philippine Olympic Committee and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas attempted to send a men's basketball team to the 2009 Summer Universiade. Their application to FISU was denied, saying to the POC that they are prioritizing participation of its member associations for the 24-team men's basketball event. 2008 Philippine Collegiate Champion League winners, the De La Salle Green Archers of the De La Salle University, would have represented the country. ^[8]

The first basketball team sent by the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines as the Philippines' representatives were the University of the Visayas Lancers, who played in the 2013 edition. This team was led by head coach Felix Bellano Jr. ^[9] However, the team was disqualified after they left the tournament before the quarterfinals. ^[10]

The Mapúa Cardinals represented the Philippines at the 2025 Summer World University Games after qualifying via the Philippine University Basketball League. ^{[11] [12]} They finished fourteenth. ^[13]

Volleyball

When the Philippines debuted at the 1967 Summer Universiade, they fielded volleyball teams for both the men's and women's competition. The men's team finished fourth while the women's team clinched second place. ^[1]

The NU Bulldogs represented the Philippines in men's volleyball at the 2025 Summer World University Games after qualifying via the Philippine University Volleyball League. ^[12] They finished fourteenth. ^[14]

Medal count

Medals by Summer World University Games

Edition
Torino 1959	Did not participate
Sofia 1961
Porto Alegre 1963
Budapest 1965
Tokyo 1967	0	1	0	0
Torino 1970	Did not participate
Moscow 1973
Rome 1975
Sofia 1977
Mexico City 1979
Bucharest 1981
Edmonton 1983
Kobe 1985
Daegu 2003	0	0	0	0
Izmir 2005	Did not participate
Bangkok 2007	0	0	1	1
Belgrade 2009	Did not participate
Shenzhen 2011	0	1	0	0
Kazan 2013	1	0	0	1
Gwangju 2015	0	0	0	0
Taipei 2017	0	1	0	1
Naples 2019	1	0	0	1
Chengdu 2021	0	0	0	0
Yekaterinburg 2023	Cancelled
Rhine-Ruhr 2025	0	0	0	0
Total	2	3	1	6

Medals by sport

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Athletics	1	0	0	1
Chess	1	0	0	1
Taekwondo	0	1	1	2
Volleyball	0	1	0	1
Wushu	0	1	0	1
Totals (5 entries)	2	3	1	6

Medals at the Winter World University Games

Edition
1960–2017	Did not participate
2019 Krasnoyarsk	0	0	0	0
2023 Lake Placid	0	0	0	0
2025 Turin	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0

List of medalists

Medal	Athlete	Year	Sport	Event
Silver	Philippine Universiade volleyball team	1967	Volleyball	Women's
Bronze	Maria Criselda Roxas	2007	Taekwondo	Women's 72 kg
Silver	Samuel Morrison	2011	Taekwondo	Men's 63 kg
Gold	Wesley So	2013	Chess	Men's
Silver	Jomar Balangui	2017	Wushu	Men's 52 kg sanda
Gold	Ernest Obiena	2019	Athletics	Men's pole vault

See also

• Philippines at the Olympics

References

1. Fookien Times Yearbook. The Fookien Times. 1968. p. 324. Retrieved 21 April 2019. In the 1967 World University Games in Tokyo — it was the first time the Philippines was represented in the international competition — the Philippine men's volleyball bunch finished fourth. Its female counterpart was second.
2. Terrado, Reuben (16 July 2013). "With full POC backing, UAAP moves to regain Universiade recognition". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
3. Andaya, Ed. "FISU supports FESSAP, says no to UAAP". 9 July 2013. Journal Online. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
4. "Universiade recognizes FESSAP". The Philippine Star. 7 July 2013. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
5. Gillen, Nancy (28 February 2019). "Figure skater to make history at Krasnoyarsk 2019 as Philippines' first Winter Universiade representative". Inside the Games. Dunsar Media Company Limited. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
6. Payo, Jasmine (22 March 2009). "Fisu nixes Archers' Serbia Universiade stint". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2015. The University of the East was the last basketball team to represent the Philippines in the 1967 Universiade with a lineup bannered by Robert Jaworski and Danny Florencio.
7. "Sixth World University Games - 1967". USA Basketball. 10 June 2010. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
8. Payo, Jasmine (2009)
9. "UV presents squad for Universiade". Sun Star Cebu. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
10. Öhrman, Ulf (14 July 2014). "Disqualification of Philippines Men's Basketball Team" (PDF). Official Communications 27th Summer Universiade, Kazan. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
11. "Mapua, Chinese university figure in bench-clearing brawl". Tiebreaker Times. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
12. Lim, Graham (9 June 2025). "All set for FISU World University Games in Germany". Journal News. People's Tonight. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
13. "Mapua shares pride in Cardinals' stand in World University Game". GMA News. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
14. "Poland and Italy triumph as FISU World University Games volleyball champions". FIVB. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.