Dr. James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 while working at a YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. Seeking an indoor winter activity, he wrote basic rules and nailed a peach basket to the track as a goal. Over time, rules and equipment evolved, including using metal hoops and backboards instead of peach baskets. Basketball grew significantly in popularity in the Philippines following the 1900s American colonial period, becoming the most popular sport in the country. The Philippines national team found early success in international competitions. Today, basketball remains the number one sport in the Philippines at both the collegiate and professional levels.

2. In early December 1891, Dr. James Naismith,
a physical education professor and instructor
at the International Young Men’s Christian
Association Training School (YMCA) (today,
Springfield College) in Springfield,
Massachusetts, USA, was trying to keep his
gym class active on a rainy day.
 Sought a vigorous indoor game during
long New England winters
 Rejecting other ideas and wrote basic rules
and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot
(3.0) m elevated track

3. Retrieved
manually Removed the
bottom

4. Basketball was originally played with
a soccer ball. The first balls made
specifically for basketball were
brown, and it was only in the late
1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for
a ball that would be more visible to
players and spectators alike,
introduced the orange ball that is
now in common use.
Paul D. “Tony” Hinkle was inducted
into the Naismith Memorial
Basketball Hall of Fame as a
contributor in 1965.

5. The peach baskets were used until
1906 when they were finally replaced
by metal hoops with backboards. A
further change was soon made, so the
ball merely passed through.
Whenever a person got the ball in the
basket, his team would gain a point.
Whichever team got the most points
won the game.
The baskets were originally nailed to
the mezzanine balcony of the playing
court, but this proved impractical
when spectators on the balcony
began to interfere with shots. The
backboard was introduced to prevent
this interference.
The game called before
as “Naismith’s Game”
was later on called as
“Basketball.”

6. Basketball is one of the main
influences of the Americans on
the Filipinos. Basketball is widely
considered as the most popular
sport in the Philippines.
Prior to the 1900s, basketball
was virtually an unknown sport
in the Philippines.
Spain’s
influences
cockfighting
social
gambling
Arnis de
Mano
300-year
colonization1900s Americans Basketball

7. It was also during the time of the American colonization when the
first ever Philippine National Basketball team was formed.
The team competed in the first ever Far Eastern Championship
Games which was incidentally held in Manila, the capital city of the
Philippines.
- Finished with gold medal
- Bowed againstChina in 1921 and settling for a silver medal
- Participated in the first ever Olympic Basketball Tournament,
finishing fifth with a 4-1 win-loss record
- Philippine Team won against Italy, Estonia, Mexico, and
Uruguay
- Failed to upset the eventual championTeam USA

8. College and universities also started to embrace the sport of basketball,
incorporating the sport in their physical education curriculum.
Established collegiate leagues such as:
 NationalCollegiateAthletic Association (NCAA), 1924
 University Athletic Association of the Philippines, 1938
1948 – Philippines became the first basketball team to score at least 100
points in Olympic competitions, outclassing Iraq, 102-30.
1950s – Philippines unleashed the legendary tandem of Lauro Mumar and
Carlos “Caloy” Loyzaga, resulting into the neck-to-neck battle against
basketball some of the top powerhouse teams of the world including the U.
S. and the Soviet Union.

9. Carlos “Caloy” Loyzaga regarded by
many as the greatest Filipino
basketball player of all time, finished
as the third leading scorer of the
tournament (148 points and 16.4
points per game), and was named in
the FIBA World Championship all-
tournament mythical five selections.
The Philippines finished third in the
1954 FIBA World Champions courtesy
of Mumar and Loyzaga. The dynamic
duo also led the Philippines to several
Asian Games gold medals during the
decade.

10. 1960s – more concentrated in the collegiate and Manila Industrial and
Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) wars that feature likes of Sonny
Jaworski and Ramon Fernandez.
1975 – the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) was established. It was the
first play-for-pay basketball league in Asia.
The early years of the PBA saw the rivalry of Jaworski’s Toyota Super Corollas
against the Atoy Co-fueled Crispa Redmanizers.
Newer and fresher basketball talents:
Ricardo Brown ; Allan Caidic ; Ato Agustin ; Benjie Paras ; Hector Calma
Later generations of:
Danny Seigle ; Danny Ildefonso ; Kenneth Duremdes ; Asi Taulava ; Mark
Caguioa

11. Today, basketball still remains as
the number one sport in the
Philippines. Despite competition
from emerging sports such as
the rejuvenated badminton and
the football-powered Azkals, the
sport of basketball will forever
remain etched in the hearts and
minds of the sports-loving
Filipino people