1954 Philippines FIBA World Championship team

Philippines
Head coachHerminio Silva
Preliminary roundSecond place
Final roundThird place
Scoring leaderCarlos Loyzaga
16.4
Biggest win90–56  Israel
(October 30, 1954)
Biggest defeat62–99  Brazil
(October 24, 1954)
1959 →

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.[1]

To date, the Philippines' performance in the tournament is the best finish by an Asian country in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.[2] The 1950s is often regarded as a "golden era" in Philippine basketball, with the Philippine team's feat in the 1954 championship a factor which contributed to the contemporary popularity of basketball in the country.[3] The 1954 squad is also an inductee of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame of the Philippine Sports Commission.[4]

Roster

The Philippine squad for the 1954 FIBA World Championship consisted of 12 players.[5][2] The roster was led by Lauro Mumar and Carlos Loyzaga,[6] the latter being named to the 1954 World Championship's All-Tournament Team.[2]

The team had six players who had previously competed in the Summer Olympics: Loyzaga, Florentino Bautista, Antonio Genato, Ponciano Saldaña, and Mariano Tolentino (1952 Helsinki) and team captain Mumar (1948 London). Some of the players had plied their trade in the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) or were part of collegiate teams playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).[7]

The team had an average height of 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) and had the average age of 23, Mumar was the eldest at 29 years old while Francisco Rabat was the youngest at 18 years old.[6]

The team was led by head coach Herminio Silva. The squad was formed from a 24-man pool of players. The initial candidates were determined by a special basketball committee. The final squad formed by Silva is mostly same as the Philippine team which participated in the 1954 Asian Games.[6] Asian Games captain Rafael Hechanova begged off having been recently married at the time. Jose Maria Cacho, Eduardo Lim and Ignacio Ramos also forego from participating in the 1954 championship. Mumar was named skipper in Hechanova's stead, while Rafael Barredo and Ben Francisco were named to the roster. Francis Wilson and Alfredo Sagarbarria were named alternates.[7]

Former basketball player and government official Ambrosio Padilla also headed the 1954 squad.[8]

# Name Team
3 Lauro Mumar Letran Knights
4 Francisco Rabat Ateneo Blue Eagles
5 Napoleon Flores UST Glowing Goldies
6 Mariano Tolentino JRC Heavy Bombers
7 Benjamin Francisco PAL Skymasters
8 Rafael Barretto San Miguel–San Beda
9 Ponciano Saldaña San Beda Red Lions
10 Florentino Bautista Letran Knights
11 Ramon Manulat UST Glowing Goldies
12 Bayani Amador FEU Tamaraws
13 Antonio Genato San Beda Red Lions
14 Carlos Loyzaga San Beda Red Lions
Coach: Philippines Herminio Silva
Source:[5][7]

Preliminary round

The Philippines was drawn to Group A with Paraguay men's national basketball team and host Brazil in the preliminary round. The Philippines won over Paraguay despite trailing in the first half. Brazil defeated the Philippines but the host's win over Paraguay ensured that the Philippines progress to the final round.[6]

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Brazil (H) 2 2 0 160 114 +46 4 Final round
2  Philippines 2 1 1 126 151 −25 3
3  Paraguay 2 0 2 104 125 −21 2 Classification round
Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts
October 23
21:00
Philippines  64–52  Paraguay
Scoring by half: 26–27, 38–25
Pts: Loyzaga 15 Pts: Zapattini 22
October 24
21:45
Brazil  99–62  Philippines
Scoring by half: 44–22, 55–40
Pts: Bonfietti 18 Pts: Mumar 22

Final round

All teams play one game against each other for a total of seven games. The teams with the best records are awarded medals.

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts
1  United States (C) 7 7 0 482 300 +182 14
2  Brazil (H) 7 6 1 418 341 +77 13
3  Philippines 7 5 2 438 406 +32 12
4  France 7 3 4 371 392 −21 10
5  Formosa 7 2 5 345 405 −60 9[a]
6  Uruguay 7 2 5 422 446 −24 9[a]
7  Canada 7 2 5 433 498 −65 9[a]
8  Israel 7 1 6 330 451 −121 8
Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(C) Champions; (H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head record: Formosa 1–1 (1.06 GAvg), Uruguay 1–1 (1.03 GAvg), Canada 1–1 (0.91 GAvg)

The Philippines were tasked to face tournament favorites United States and expectedly lost to them. This was followed by wins over Israel, Formosa, Canada and a second lost to host Brazil.

The Philippines were assured of a bronze medal after their 66–60 win over France.[9] This is due to Uruguay, their final opponent, having an inferior win–loss record. Nevertheless, the Philippines capped their campaign with a victory over Uruguay to formalize their third place finish.[6]

October 27
18:00
Philippines  43–56  United States
Scoring by half: 22–25, 21–31
Pts: Mumar 14 Pts: Minter 15
Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Referees: Eduardo Airaldi (PER), Helio Louzada (BRA)
October 29
19:00
Formosa  38–48  Philippines
Scoring by half: 21–21, 17–27
Pts: Wang Y.J. 12 Pts: Flores 12
Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Referees: Renato Righetto (BRA), Juan M. Rossini (URU)
October 30
Israel  56–90  Philippines
Scoring by half: 30–37, 26–53
Pts: Schneor 14 Pts: Loyzaga, Saldaña 20
Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Referees: Earl Schlup (USA), Aladino Astuto (BRA)
October 31
Brazil  57–41  Philippines
Scoring by half: 35–23, 22–18
Pts: de Almeida 15 Pts: Loyzaga 15
Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Referees: Alberto Pedro (PAR), Juan M. Rossini (URU)
November 1
19:30
Canada  76–83  Philippines
Scoring by half: 35–41, 41–42
Pts: Ridd 37 Pts: Mumar 24
Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Referees: Earl Schlup (USA), Orlando Tabuso (BRA)
November 3
Philippines  66–60  France
Scoring by half: 25–23, 41–37
Pts: Loyzaga 19 Pts: Haudegand 11
Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Referees: Eduardo Airaldi (PER), Noli Coutinho (BRA)
November 5
Philippines  67–63  Uruguay
Scoring by half: 32–32, 35–31
Pts: Loyzaga 31 Pts: Lombardo 14
Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
Referees: Aladino Astuto (BRA), Angelo Benvenuto (CHI)

References

  1. ^ Ramos, Pam (August 30, 2019). "Team Philippines' performance in past FIBA World Cups". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Leongson, Randolph (November 5, 2020). "Greatest moment in Philippine basketball happened 66 years ago". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  3. ^ "Gilas and the Filipinos' love affair with basketball". Rappler. September 1, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  4. ^ "Previous Philippine Sports Hall of Fame - Philippine Sports Commission". Philippine Sports Commission. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Philippines - 1954 World Championship for Men". FIBA. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e Iñigo, Manolo (May 24, 2012). "How PH five became the world's No. 3". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Alinea, Eddie (August 21, 2019). "The PH bags bronze in FIBA 1954 WC". The Manila Times. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  8. ^ "Hon. Ambrosio Padilla". The Philippine Officials Review. M & M Publications. 1967. p. 83.
  9. ^ "Pagpupugay 1954: Philippines clinches FIBA World bronze medal with heated win over France" [Tribute 1954: Philippines clinches FIBA World bronze medal with heated win over France]. GMA News. November 3, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2021.