Ambrosio "Paddy" Bibby Padilla (; December 7, 1910 – August 11, 1996) was a Filipino

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player, lawyer, and an elected member of the

Senate of the Philippines The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House of Representatives as the lower house. The ...

. He was one of the most important figures in Asian basketball development.

Early life

Padilla was born as the eighth of eleven children of Dr. Nicanor Padilla and Ysabel Bibby. He married Lourdes de las Alas on May 4, 1941, the eldest daughter of Taaleño senator Antonio de las Alas. Padilla fathered 10 children: 6 boys and 4 girls.

Athletic career

Padilla was born in Lingayen,

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan (, ; ; ), is a coastal Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capital is Lingayen, Pangasinan, Lingayen while San Carlos, Pangasi ...

. He studied at the Ateneo de Manila for his high school and college education. In college, he was the team captain of the 1928 Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles varsity basketball squad that won the 1928 NCAA (Philippines) basketball championship under coach James A. Martin, S.J. Later, he studied law at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

and became a varsity player of the university's baseball team in the early 1930s. In 1930, Padilla played for the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

which won the gold medal of the 9th Far Eastern Games basketball tournament in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He played alongside Jacinto Ciria Cruz and Mariano Filomeno. In 1934, he captained the national team that retained the basketball championship in the 10th Far Eastern Games held at home for the final time. In 1936, Padilla as team captain of the national basketball team led the Philippines to a fifth-place finished in the 11th (1936) Summer Olympics held at

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It remains the best finish by an

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n country in men's Olympic basketball history. The team was coached by Dionisio Calvo and, aside from Padilla, boasted of great players like Ciria Cruz and Charles Borck. Padilla retired from basketball and became the chair of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF) Basketball Committee from 1938 to 1954. The international governing body,

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

, appointed Padilla as its Vice President for Asia from 1956 to 1964. He was one of the forefathers and later elected President of the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC), now known as

FIBA Asia FIBA Asia is a zone within the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA) which contains Asian FIBA member associations. Sub-zones 44 member associations in 6 sub-zones: # Central Asia Basketball Association (CABA) – 5 member associati ...

, from 1960 to 1966 with his former coach Dionisio Calvo as the Secretary-General. When he finished his term, he served as the ABC president emeritus from 1967. He became the sixth President of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF), the forerunner of the

Philippine Olympic Committee The Philippine Olympic Committee Inc. (POC) is the National Olympic Committee of the Philippines. The POC is a private, non-governmental organization composed of and serve as the mother organization of all National Sports Associations (NSAs) in ...

(POC), in 1970 and became the first president of the POC when PAAF was renamed POC in 1975.

Political career

President

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash, aircraft disast ...

appointed Padilla as

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

in 1954. He later resigned in 1957 to run for the Senate and won. He served in the Senate until 1972 when President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

declared Martial Law. Notwithstanding his stature and brushing aside the dangers arising from his opposition to the martial law regime, he actively fought the Marcos regime with his legal skills and belief in freedom. After Marcos was overthrown in the 1986 People Power Revolution, President

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

appointed Padilla to the 1986 Constitutional Commission which was tasked to draft a new constitution for the country. Padilla was elected vice-chair of the commission with former Supreme Court Associate Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma as its chair. The new Constitution was officially ratified by the Filipino people in a plebiscite held on February 2, 1987.

Legacy

Ambrosio Padilla 2010 stamp of the Philippines 3

Padilla, who died on August 11, 1996, was inducted into the Philippine National Basketball Hall of Fame in January 1999 along with other Filipino basketball greats like

Carlos Loyzaga Carlos "Caloy" Loyzaga y Matute (August 29, 1930 – January 27, 2016) was a Filipino basketball player, coach and politician. He was the most dominant basketball player of his era in the Philippines and is considered as the greatest Filipino ba ...

Lauro Mumar Lauro "The Fox" Mumar (March 6, 1924 – December 20, 1990) was a Filipino basketball player and later served as the national team head coach of India and the Philippines. He was one of the greatest Filipino players of his time, playing alongs ...

, Jacinto Ciria Cruz, Charles Borck, Edgardo Ocampo, Mariano Tolentino, and his own Olympic coach Chito Calvo. The Ateneo de Manila University's ''Ambrosio Padilla Award'', which is given out annually to the university's best academically performing college varsity player from any sport, is named in his honor. A classroom at Malcolm Hall of the

University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...

is named in his honor.

Personal life

He is the father of Francisco "Frank" Padilla, founder and Servant General of the Catholic renewal group Missionary Families of Christ. Another of Padilla’s children is Alexander Padilla, also a graduate of the UP College of Law in 1981, and the CEO and President of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation from 2013 to 2016, who also became Undersecretary of the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

. Padilla was a junior faculty member when he helped found the UP Alpha Phi Beta fraternity in 1939, together with mentored students such as

Renato Constantino Renato Reyes Constantino Sr. (March 10, 1919 – September 15, 1999) was a Filipino historian known for being part of the leftist tradition of Philippine historiography. Apart from being a historian, Constantino was also engaged in foreign se ...

Awards and achievements

*1928 NCAA Philippines champions *1930 Far Eastern Games champion *1934 Far Eastern Games champions *1936 Summer Olympics, fifth placeAmbrosio Padilla
sports-reference.com *Philippine National Hall of Fame (1999)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla, Ambrosio 1910 births 1996 deaths Solicitors general of the Philippines Olympic basketball players for the Philippines Basketball players at the 1936 Summer Olympics Ateneo Blue Eagles men's basketball players People from San Miguel, Manila Politicians from Pangasinan Basketball players from Pangasinan Minority leaders of the Senate of the Philippines Senators of the 7th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 6th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 5th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 4th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 3rd Congress of the Philippines Filipino sportsperson-politicians Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players 20th-century Filipino lawyers Magsaysay administration personnel Filipino sports executives and administrators UP Fighting Maroons men's basketball players Philippine Sports Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 Philippine Collegian editors 20th-century Filipino sportsmen