Caloy Loyzaga to be enshrined into Fiba Hall of Fame
CARLOS Loyzaga, widely considered as the best Filipino player of all time, is set to be enshrined into the Fiba Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2023, the world basketball body announced on Friday.
The enshrinement will take place on August 23 in Manila, two days before the start if the the Fiba Basketball World Cup.
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The late Loyzaga earned a place in the Mythical Team when he led the Philippines to a historic third-place finish in the 1954 Fiba World Championship, still the best finish by an Asian country ever.
Loyzaga will be be joined by several prominent basketball personalities including Chinese cager Yao Ming in the 2023 Hall of Fame class.
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Loyzaga, who will be honored posthumously, will go down as the first Filipino to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player. Dionisio Calvo, who had stints as a player and coached the Philippines in the 1936 Olympics, is in the Hall of Fame as a contributor.
Also inducted into the Fiba Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is Wlarmir Marques, considered one of the best players from Brazil after guiding his nation to the 1959 and 1963 Fiba Basketball World Cup crown.
Penny Taylor was also inducted after helping Australia bag its first-ever Fiba Women’s Basketball World Cup title in 2006.
Indonesian legend Liem Tjien Siong, also known as Sonny Hendrawan, will also be inducted for his accomplishments that included winning the MVP in the 1967 Fiba Asia Cup.
Japan’s Yuko Oga is also part of the Hall of Fame class following her storied career from 2001 to 2013.
Eight-time Afrobasket champion Angelo Monteiro dos Santos Victoriano of Angola, and Georgian player Zurab Sakandelidze and female players two-time Olympic gold medalist Katrina McClain of the United States and 2013 Women Eurobasket champion Amaya Valdemoro of Spain will also be inducted.
