Basketball is the most popular sport in the Philippines, played on both the amateur and professional levels.
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Basketball was introduced in the Philippines during the American colonial period with the first American teachers teaching the sport along with baseball through the YMCA and the school system. [1] Basketball was first introduced to the Philippine public school system by the Americans as a women's sport in 1910 and was played in Interscholastic meets in 1911 until 1913. Women's basketball met opposition from conservative groups, particularly the Catholic Church who view bloomers worn by women basketball players as inappropriate. By the time skirts were allowed to be worn above bloomers as a compromise, women's basketball was already in decline and was only played in provincial and local interscholastic meets. Indoor softball and as well as volleyball became the more preferred sport for Filipino women. [2]
The first men's national team – organized in the 1910s – won the first Far Eastern Championship Games in 1913. In all but one of the ten editions of the games, the national team won the gold medal. [1]
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which had basketball as its main sport, was established in 1924. [1]
The Philippines became a member of FIBA through the Basketball Association of the Philippines in 1936.[ citation needed ] The Philippines made their debut in the Olympic Games in 1936 where they finished fifth, the best result of an Asian team in Olympic basketball history. In the same year, the first basketball stamp in the world was released by the country. The first commercial league was the basketball tournament of the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) which was established in 1938. [1]
The Philippines became an independent country in 1946, and in the 1950s, the national team did well in international tournaments. The Philippine team won the gold medal at the Asian Games in 1951, the first-time basketball was played. [3] The Philippine basketball team dominated the Asian Games until 1962. [3]
After missing the first FIBA Basketball World Cup (known through 2010 as the FIBA World Championship) that was held in 1950 in Argentina, the Philippines participated in the 1954 FIBA World Championship held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Philippines finished with a 5–2 win–loss record in the Final Round games, and captured the bronze medal. The third place-finish is still currently the best finish by an Asian country in the World Cup. Carlos Loyzaga finished as the world tournament's third leading scorer (148 points/16.4 points per game) and was named in the FIBA World Mythical Five Selection.
In the 1960s, the first FIBA Asia Championship was won by the Philippines with Carlos Badion as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Meanwhile, the Philippines won the right to host the third FIBA World Championship, but were suspended after then-President Diosdado Macapagal, father of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, refused to issue visas to players from communist countries (notably basketball powerhouse Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union).
The Philippines' dominance in sport waned after Carlos Loyzaga's retirement, and had performed poorly in the Olympic games where the national team was unable to break into top-10 positions. However, the country continued to play competitively in the Asian and World Championships.
The commercial league model pioneered by the MICAA continued with the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in 1975 and the Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL) in 1983. The PBA is the first professional basketball league in Asia and the second oldest in the world after the NBA. [4] The league's regulations are a hybrid of rules from FIBA and the NBA. The league was inaugurated on April 9, 1975. [5] The PABL was established to fill the void created after the collapse of the MICAA in 1981.
In 1978, the Philippines hosted the FIBA World Championship, marking the first time that the international tournament was held in Asia.
In 1992, a poll was conducted by Enervon C asking 62 basketball experts to list their top ten Filipino basketball players of all time, with first place being worth ten points and a decrease in one point for each succeeding place. [6] Ranking first was Caloy Loyzaga, who received the most points with 603; in second place was Robert Jaworski with 458 points, while third place went to Ramon Fernandez with 332 points. [6]
In 1999, the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) was established. It was the first league in the Philippines to use a home-and-away format like most other sports leagues. The MBA, however, would cease operations in 2002.
The Philippines was suspended by FIBA in 2005 due to a leadership crisis which affected the former national basketball association of the country – the Basketball Association of the Philippines.
In 2007, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas became the newly recognized national basketball body for the Philippines by FIBA.
In 2009, Smart Gilas Pilipinas was officially launched to help the Philippines qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. They failed after finishing fourth in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship. [7] In 2013, the Philippines qualified for the 2014 FIBA World Cup with a second-place finish in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship. [7] That year also saw the boys' U-16 team qualify for the 2014 FIBA U-17 World Championship, [8] and the boys' U-18 team winning the inaugural Fiba-Asia 3x3 U18 Championship. [9] In 2015, the women's team was promoted to Level 1 after a win against India. [10]
In 2017, the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) was inaugurated. [11] The MPBL paved the way for future grassroots-level leagues in the future, including the National Basketball League (NBL) in 2018, Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup in 2021, and the Pilipinas Super League (PSL) in 2022. FilBasket was also established in 2021, which would go on to become AsiaBasket in 2023.
Heading into the 2020s, numerous Filipino basketball players play overseas in different leagues, with examples being Thirdy and Kiefer Ravena and others in the Japanese B. League, Jack Animam in Serbia, and Kai Sotto in the Australian NBL and later the B. League. [12] Sotto would go on to declare for the 2022 NBA draft but went undrafted, Sotto would be picked up by the Orlando Magic for the 2023 NBA Summer League.
Gilas Pilipinas went on to qualify for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and then the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the latter marks the Philippines' second hosting of the event, this time co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia. [7]
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the second-oldest continuously operating professional basketball league in the world after North America's NBA.
The Philippines men's national basketball team, commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
Carlos "Caloy" LoyzagayMatute was a Filipino basketball player, coach and politician. He was the most dominant basketball player of his era in the Philippines and is considered as the greatest Filipino basketball player of all time. Loyzaga was a two-time Olympian, as a member of the Philippine national team.
Vincent "Chot" P. Reyes is a Filipino basketball coach who is the head coach for the TNT Tropang Giga of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He also served as the head coach for the Philippine national basketball team, where he led the team to a historic silver medal finish at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship and its subsequent appearance at the 2014 FIBA World Cup; the country's first in 36 years. He also coached the team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
One Sports, currently rebranding to Sports5, is the sports division of TV5 Network, Inc. and jointly-operated with sister company Cignal TV. One Sports supplies and airs major sporting events in the Philippines and the world for free-to-air TV channels TV5, RPTV, One Sports channel, Cignal-exclusive channels One Sports+, PBA Rush, NBA TV Philippines and UAAP Varsity Channel, and online esports streaming channel GG Network.
Dionisio "Chito" Calvo was a Filipino basketball player, swimmer, and coach who mentored both the basketball and football national teams of the Philippines. He was one of the greatest Filipino sportsmen in history and helped in the development of both Philippine and Asian basketball.
Lauro "The Fox" Mumar was a Filipino basketball player and later served as the national team head coach of India and the Philippines. He was one of the greatest Filipino players of his time, playing alongside compatriot legend Carlos Loyzaga. He is the father of Lawrence "Larry" Mumar who was also a basketball player. He is the grandfather of L. A. Mumar, Vico Sotto's half-brother.
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Christopher Joyce Fernando Javier is a Filipino professional basketball player for the San Juan Knights of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted 5th overall by Star in the 2016 PBA draft.
The women's national 3x3 team of the Philippines represents the country in international 3x3 basketball matches and is controlled by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
Christian Jaymar Perez is a Hong Kong-born Filipino professional basketball player for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was selected 1st overall in the 2018 PBA draft by Columbian Dyip.
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The following is a list of notable events and developments that are related to Philippine sports in 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the conduct of sports in the Philippines affecting both competitive sports leagues and tournaments and recreational sports.
PBA 3x3 is the men's 3x3 basketball league of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The Philippines men's national basketball team won the bronze medal at the 1954 FIBA World Championship held in Brazil. Since the 2014, the event is known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup. This is also the Philippines' first appearance in the tournament.
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