PHILS. BIDS TO HOST FIBA-ASIA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 10 Sep 2012
MANILA (PNA)- Next Year will mark the first year of FIBA-Asia (formerly Asian Basketball Confederation) men?s championship?s next 25 years. From the time the Philippines played host to what was designed a biennial tournament involving Asia?s basketball-playing nations, the now FIBA-Asia has so far staged 25 championships.
Tianjin in China was given the honour of staging the Silver Anniversary celebration of the tournament that was actually born in the Philippines, Manila to be exact, host of the initial staging in 1960. That the staging in Manila was the benchmark of the succeeding editions of former ABC is an understatement for indeed, since Taipei took over in 1963, followed by 17 other cities within the region, the Philippine edition remains the role model as far as organization is concerned.
It won?t be asking too much, therefore that the Philippines is again offering to a host anew the event raising the curtains of its 26th Anniversary edition.
?If the Philippine edition of the first ever championship has been used as yardstick in the
tournament?s 25 years, we believe we should again should be given the honor of starting the next 25 years,? Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas executive director Sonny Barrios said, echoing the sentiment of SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan.
Not only that, history looks on the side of the Philippines in its bid due to the fact that it was through the efforts of two Filipino sports leaders ? then Sen. Ambrosio Padilla and Chito Calvo that the first steps to organize and the then ABC were taken en route to its formation.
Padilla headed the by-laws committee that drafted the ABC Charter and later became its first president, while Calvo, an organic football player who coached the Philippine team that finished fifth in the 1936 Olympic Games, was the association?s first secretary general.
Calvo was also the chair of the 1960 First ABC championship when the first congress was also held.
The moves for the formation of the ABC started in 1948 when, during a meeting to organize the Asian Games Federation in that year?s London Olympic Games, basketball, along with tennis, baseball, hockey, volleyball, football, wrestling and weightlifting were made optional events.
It took 10 years though in 1958 during the third edition of the Asian Games in Tokyo when the idea of organizing a regional basketball federation as a means of promoting and developing the sport in Asia was proposed by Calvo.
The idea drew favourable reactions from representatives of other countries, among them Yushimi Ikeda of Japan, Niu Ping-Yieh of the Republic of China (now Chinese-Taipei) Paul J.S. Hyen of Korea and Charlie Sien of Singapore.
With the guidance of then FIBA secretary general, Dr. R. Williams Jones, a simple article of agreement was drafted, marking the birth of what is to be known as the ABC.
Padilla was named to head the by-laws committee and, with Calvo and another Filipino, Leonardo ?Skip? Guinto, as members, drafted the ABC Charter that was approved during the second edition of the tournament in Taipei in 1963.
Since then, the ABC has grown, not only in numbers but, likewise, as one of the most robust sports organization this part of the world.
ABC, for instance, played a major role in the major growth of the sport of basketball in the world, like the opening the door to professional players in all the regional continental tournaments and even the world championship and the Olympic Games.
ABC even succeeded one of its leaders ? Gonzalo ?Lito? Puyat II ? elected as president of FIBA, a position the Filipino sports honcho served twice. It was during Puyat?s helm, incidentally, when the sport was opened to the pros, allowing such NBA superstars as Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, among other of the first ?Dream Team,? and the present day heroes Kobe Bryant, and Lebron James, to play in the Olympics, making the quadrennial conclave truly the ?Greatest Show On Earth.?
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