Dionisio "Chito" Calvo (November 20, 1904 – December 9, 1977) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, swimmer, and coach who mentored both the

and football national teams of the Philippines. He was one of the greatest Filipino sportsmen in history and helped in the development of both Philippine and Asian basketball.

Early life

Born in

Sampaloc, Manila Sampaloc is a district of Manila, Philippines. It is referred to as the University Belt or simply called ''“U-Belt”'' for numerous colleges and universities are found within the district such as the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest ext ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Calvo studied at the Ateneo grade school and the Manila high school prior to enrolling at the University of the Philippines college of agriculture at age 18. In 1921, Calvo became the first Filipino to win the platform diving title at the Far Eastern Games, forerunner of the Asian Games. He embarked on a brilliant career as an all-around athlete excelling in swimming, basketball, soccer, track, and even boxing.

Basketball and coaching

He was a guard for the championship-winning Philippine basketball team alongside Lou Salvador in the 1925 Far Eastern Games, though he earlier represented the country not as a basketball player. He was a member of the Philippine national swimming team that competed in the

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in Brazil. ** The Spanish liner ''Santa Isabel'' breaks ...

and

1923 Far Eastern Games The 1923 Far Eastern Championship Games was the sixth edition of the regional multi-sport event, contested between China, Japan and the Philippines, and was held from 21–25 May in Osaka, Empire of Japan. It was the first and only time that Os ...

. Calvo led the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

to the 1926

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

title but earlier captained the Manila Sporting Goods Co. to Philippine Open title. He eventually retired to focus on college coaching. His coaching career was a success, mentoring basketball championship teams of

San Beda College es, Universidad de San Beda , image = San Beda University seal.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = University Seal , latin_name = Universitas Sancti Bedæ , former_names ...

, and the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Mig ...

. He also coached the champion teams of De La Salle College in basketball and football. Later, Calvo coached the

Philippines men's national basketball team The Philippines men's national basketball team ( fil, Pambansang koponan ng basketbol ng Pilipinas), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipi ...

to a fifth-place finish in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics ( German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad ( German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi- ...

held at

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. A one-point loss to the United States prevented the Filipinos from qualifying in the round of four. The fifth-place finish remained the best finish by the national team and by an Asian country in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

basketball history. The team included Filipino legends Ambrosio Padilla, Charlie Borck and Jacinto Ciria Cruz, along with Primitivo Martinez, Bibiano Ouano, Franco Marquicias, Francisco and Jose Vestil. In 1938, Calvo organized the

Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association The Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) was a sports association which existed in Manila, Philippines from 1938 to 1981. Throughout its existence, it staged various sports and was participated by prominent Philippine co ...

(MICAA). MICAA was a commercialized amateur basketball league that help shaped Philippine basketball for more than 30 years. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Calvo coached the second Philippine Olympic basketball team in the 1948 Summer Olympics held at

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The team finished 12th but set a new record by thrashing

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, 102–30 in their opening game. The Philippines was the first country to score over 100 points in a single game of the Olympic Games basketball history. Calvo was also the head coach of the first Philippine national team that captured the basketball gold medal in the 1951 Asian Games and includes basketball legends, Carlos Loyzaga and Lauro Mumar. Calvo along with Ambrosio Padilla initiated the formation of the Asian Basketball Confederation (now the

FIBA Asia FIBA Asia is a zone within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) which contains all 44 Asian FIBA federations. Member associations Tournaments Organized by FIBA Asia National teams * FIBA Asia Cup – since 2017, also include ...

) in 1960 and served as its first ever Secretary-General with Padilla as its first president. He was the first Filipino and a charter inductee for the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " S ...

when he was inducted as a contributor on March 1, 2007.

Posthumous citation

Two years after his death, Calvo was inducted into the Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame. In 1982, the organizing committee of the seventh Asian Youth basketball championship has cited Calvo for his efforts in establishing the Asian Basketball Confederation.

Awards and achievements

* 1925 Far Eastern Games champion *1926 NCAA Philippines champions *Philippine Open champion *

, fifth place (head coach) * 1948 Summer Olympics, 12th place (head coach) * 1951 Asian Games champions *Member,

as a contributor.

Football

Calvo also coached the

Philippines national football team The Philippines national football team ( Filipino/ tl, Pambansang koponan ng futbol ng Pilipinas, lit=) represents the Philippines in international football, governed by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and has been playing internati ...

that finished with a tie for second place in the 1934 Far Eastern Games. He also led the team that participated at the 1954 Asian Games.

Statistics

;Managerial

References

External links

Dionisio Calvo's FIBA Hall of Fame page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calvo, Dionisio 1904 births 1977 deaths Filipino men's basketball coaches UP Fighting Maroons basketball players Filipino male swimmers Guards (basketball) Basketball players from Manila FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Filipino football head coaches Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players Philippines men's national basketball team coaches People from Sampaloc, Manila Philippines national football team managers Philippine Sports Hall of Fame inductees San Beda Red Lions basketball coaches UST Growling Tigers basketball coaches De La Salle Green Archers basketball coaches