FIBA inducts Caloy Loyzaga as first Filipino Hall of Fame player, joins Yao Ming class

MANILA, Philippines – FIBA is set to induct basketball legend Carlos “Caloy” Loyzaga as the first-ever Filipino player in its illustrious Hall of Fame wing, the organization announced on Friday, June 2.

Known as “The Big Difference,” Loyzaga was named a member of the All-Tournament Team in the 1954 FIBA World Championship, where the Philippines finished with a bronze medal.

He was also a four-time Asian Games champion with the national team and was a two-time Asian Basketball Confederation Champion, a tournament now known as the FIBA Asia Cup.

Loyzaga was an eight-time champion in the PBA’s predecessor league, the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA), and even had a streak of seven straight titles from 1954 to 1960 with the YCO Athletic Club Painters.

He joins other basketball pillars like Chinese icon and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming, Brazilian legend and FIBA 50 Greatest Players member Wlamir Marques, and three-time WNBA champion Penny Taylor.

Loyzaga, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 85, will be posthumously honored in Manila on August 23, shortly before the Philippines formally kicks off its joint hosting of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Other 2023 FIBA Hall of Fame inductees include Angelo Monteiro dos Santos Victoriano of Angola, Zurab Sakandelidze of Georgia, Liem Tjien Siong of Indonesia, Yuko Oga of Japan, Katrina McClain of the USA, Amaya Valdemoro of Spain, Valerie Garnier of France, and Alessandro Gamba of Italy.

Loyzaga is the second Filipino to get the prestigious award after basketball and football coach Dionisio “Chito” Calvo in 2007. – Rappler.com