Why Caloy Loyzaga is the GOAT of Philippines basketball

Joey Loyzaga remembers the moment when he began to realize his father was someone special.

"His contemporaries would tell me, 'Your father was really good,'" Joey said of his dad, Carlos "Caloy" Loyzaga, during a conversation with ESPN. "I really didn't understand what they meant because I was a kid. That's all they would say: He was a humble, good player. And he was a good person to his teammates."

Joey's sister Teresa has similar memories. Strangers looked up to him for reasons she didn't understand since Caloy never talked about his accomplishments.

"There was no air of celebrity at home," Joey said. "He was just a perfect dad. Maybe the realization of his achievements and him being a celebrity. ... Later on, when we were beginning to understand life outside. We started realizing, people talked about him, people told stories about him."

When they were growing up, Joey's youngest sister Bing thought nothing of the room in their home that stored the trophies, medals, and newspaper clippings that spoke to their father's greatness.

"I thought it was part of the décor," Bing told ESPN. "Being the youngest I was like, 'OK it's there. So I guess every household has this.'''

On Wednesday, Loyzaga's achievements will finally be honored posthumously as he becomes the first Filipino player inducted in the FIBA Hall of Fame (Dionisio Calvo was enshrined in 2007 as a contributor). Loyzaga's enshrinement ceremony will be held during the FIBA World Congress in the lead-up to the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The Big Difference

Carlos Matute Loyzaga, who died in 2016, was known as King Caloy and by his more popular moniker "The Big Difference." He is considered the greatest, most decorated, and most successful Filipino basketball player of all time.

With all due respect to Ramon Fernandez, Robert Jaworski and June Mar Fajardo, Loyzaga stands head and shoulders above them all.

He was the best player on the most successful Asian team in the history of the FIBA World Cup -- the Philippine team that went 6-3 and won the bronze medal at the 1954 edition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It remains the highest finish by any Asian nation in the quadrennial meet. He was also named to the All-Tournament Team, an achievement no other Asian player has accomplished, after averaging 16.4 points per game.

Loyzaga also played in two Olympic Games -- Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956 -- where his teams finished ninth and seventh, respectively, and put up a combined 7-6 win-loss record. He also won back-to-back FIBA Asia Championship gold medals.

With Loyzaga at the helm, the Philippines won four consecutive gold medals in the Asian Games. The last of those titles, which came in 1962, was also the last time the Philippines won a gold medal in the event. It would take 28 years before another Philippine team, one that included Loyzaga's eldest son Chito, would even make it to the gold medal game.

It wasn't just in the international arena where Loyzaga excelled. He won three championships for San Beda in the NCAA and led YCO to seven consecutive titles in the MICAA, the forerunner of the PBA. The MICAA did not give out individual awards, but if it had, Loyzaga would almost surely have been named MVP many times over.

After he retired from play, he became a successful coach. In 1967, he became the only Filipino to win the FIBA Asia Championship as both a player and coach.

A champion on and off the court

Wednesday's recognition is long overdue, given that he was undoubtedly the first great Asian player and his achievements remain unmatched to this day. While his children are grateful for the award, they are one in saying that their father's true legacy lies in his humility, class and love for the Philippines.

"It's how much he loved the country," Teresa says. "He played for the country and the flag. It's not the money. It's playing for the flag, the love of the sport."

Adds Bing: "I have all this memorabilia and these clippings. Even in the clippings, it always shouted out that he was a man of principle. He had offers from overseas to play for (other countries), but he decided to play for the Philippines. He gave everything up to play for the Philippines, to play for his mom, to play for his family.

"He broke his right wrist, so he practiced to be able to shoot with his left wrist because he wanted to represent the Philippines. He was very principled and he instilled that in all of us. That is one thing I'm really proud of."

Joey said his father "was a very humble man. Boasting of his achievements? I did not see that."

And while following in the footsteps of their father was an impossible task, Joey said he and Chito were spared from the pressure and demanding nature that many other great athletes sometimes impose on their children.

"Dad didn't pressure us," said Joey, whose best PBA years came when he and Chito were teammates on Ginebra. "He gave us the freedom to play well, to love and enjoy playing and to be ourselves. He was always there to guide us, but not to pressure us. And he didn't care what other people would say. 'Just do your thing, just play honestly, just play well, just play good basketball.'"

Local basketball historian Jay Mercado puts Loyzaga's greatness into context by pointing out that during his era, the Philippines was "considered a basketball powerhouse, maybe in the top 10, or at worst, top 15, in the world - a feat that may never ever be replicated in the future."

"At the same time, he was the epitome of what a basketball ambassador is all about," Mercado said. "He represented the Philippines with class and distinction, a proven winner who will overcome all odds to give glory to his country."

Bing hopes her dad's award will serve as an inspiration for the next generation of Filipino athletes.

"It's such a privilege for my dad to be receiving this recognition. We're all hoping that it inspires future athletes so that one day the Philippines will be known again as a champion in a certain sport. Not necessarily basketball. Any of our athletes. I really hope his story, his recognition on Wednesday will allow them to see that the Pinoy can do it."

Comparing athletes of different generations is oftentimes a futile task, but fans do it anyway, especially in basketball. Fajardo probably would beat Loyzaga in a mythical one-on-one game, while Fernandez's many PBA records will remain untouched for a long time. Jaworski's name resonates to this day, and he stands alone at the top when it comes to the level of fame he achieved.

But for Mercado, the FIBA award simply validates what he has always known: Caloy Loyzaga is the greatest Filipino basketball player of all time.

"Yes, without a doubt and way ahead of everyone else, past and present."

There's also no doubt in Teresa's mind.

"He's the Philippines' greatest basketball player. He is No. 1 until somebody is better. But as far as today, here and now, it's Caloy Loyzaga."