# Dionisio Calvo

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Filipino basketball player and coach

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Dionisio Calvo Born (1904-11-20)November 20, 1904 Manila, Philippine Islands Died December 9, 1977(1977-12-09) (aged 73) Basketball career Career information College UP Position Guard Career history Playing c. 1920s Manila Sporting Goods Co. Coaching 1929–1930s UST 1930s San Beda c. 1939 De La Salle 1936, 1948, 1951 Philippines Association football career Managerial career Years Team 1930–1934 Philippines 1939–1940s De La Salle 1954 Philippines Medal record Men's basketball Representing Philippines Far Eastern Games 1925 Manila Team Men's diving Representing Philippines Far Eastern Games 1921 Shanghai Individual

**Dionisio "Chito" Calvo** (November 20, 1904 – December 9, 1977) was a [Filipino](/source/Filipino_people) [basketball](/source/Basketball) player, swimmer, and coach who mentored both the [basketball](/source/Philippines_men's_national_basketball_team) and [football](/source/Philippines_national_football_team) 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](/source/Sampaloc%2C_Manila), [Philippines](/source/Philippines), 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](/source/Guard_(basketball)) for the championship-winning Philippine basketball team alongside [Lou Salvador](/source/Lou_Salvador) in the [1925 Far Eastern Games](/source/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](/source/1921_Far_Eastern_Games) and [1923 Far Eastern Games](/source/1923_Far_Eastern_Games).

Calvo led the [University of the Philippines](/source/UP_Fighting_Maroons) to the 1926 [NCAA](/source/NCAA_Philippines_Basketball_Championship) 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](/source/San_Beda_College), and the [University of Santo Tomas](/source/University_of_Santo_Tomas). He also coached the champion teams of [De La Salle College](/source/De_La_Salle_University-Manila) in basketball and football.

Later, Calvo coached the [Philippines men's national basketball team](/source/Philippines_men's_national_basketball_team) to a fifth-place finish in the [1936 Summer Olympics](/source/1936_Summer_Olympics) held at [Berlin](/source/Berlin), [Germany](/source/Germany). 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](/source/Olympic_Games) basketball history. The team included Filipino legends [Ambrosio Padilla](/source/Ambrosio_Padilla), [Charlie Borck](/source/Charles_Borck) and [Jacinto Ciria Cruz](/source/Jacinto_Ciria_Cruz), along with [Primitivo Martinez](/source/Primitivo_Martinez), [Bibiano Ouano](/source/Bibiano_Ouano), [Franco Marquicias](/source/Franco_Marquicias), [Francisco](/source/Francisco_Vestil) and Jose Vestil.

In 1938, Calvo organized the [Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association](/source/Manila_Industrial_and_Commercial_Athletic_Association) (MICAA). MICAA was a commercialized amateur basketball league that help shaped Philippine basketball for more than 30 years.

After the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), Calvo coached the second Philippine Olympic basketball team in the [1948 Summer Olympics](/source/1948_Summer_Olympics) held at [London](/source/London), [England](/source/England), [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom). The team finished 12th but set a new record by thrashing [Iraq](/source/Iraq_national_basketball_team), 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.[1]

Calvo was also the head coach of the first Philippine national team that captured the basketball gold medal in the [1951 Asian Games](/source/1951_Asian_Games) and includes basketball legends, [Carlos Loyzaga](/source/Carlos_Loyzaga) and [Lauro Mumar](/source/Lauro_Mumar).

Calvo along with Ambrosio Padilla initiated the formation of the [Asian Basketball Confederation](/source/FIBA_Asia) (now the [FIBA Asia](/source/FIBA_Asia)) 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](/source/FIBA_Hall_of_Famer) 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](/source/1925_Far_Eastern_Games) champion

- 1926 NCAA Philippines champions

- Philippine Open champion

- [1936 Summer Olympics](/source/1936_Summer_Olympics), fifth place (head coach)

- [1948 Summer Olympics](/source/1948_Summer_Olympics), 12th place (head coach)

- [1951 Asian Games](/source/1951_Asian_Games) champions

- Member, [FIBA Hall of Fame](/source/FIBA_Hall_of_Famer) as a contributor.

## Football

Calvo as Philippines coach in 1930.

Calvo also coached the [Philippines national football team](/source/Philippines_national_football_team) that finished with a tie for second place in the [1934 Far Eastern Games](/source/Football_at_the_1934_Far_Eastern_Games).[2] He also led the team that participated at the [1954 Asian Games](/source/Football_at_the_1954_Asian_Games).[3]

### Statistics

**Managerial**

Nat Team from to Record Games Wins Draws Losses Win % Philippines 1934 3 1 0 2 033.33 1954 2 0 0 2 000.00 Total 5 1 0 4 020.00

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Alinea, Eddie G. (4 February 2020). ["Philippines went medalless in 1936 berlin Olympics"](https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/02/04/sports/sports-top/philippines-went-medalless-in-1936-berlin-olympics/679663/). *The Manila Times*. Retrieved 19 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Playback of a Memorable Game - The controversial 1934 Philippines-China football setto"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070819084954/http://www.philfootball.info/memorable.html). *Philfootball.info*. Philippine Football Federation. Archived from [the original](http://www.philfootball.info/memorable.html) on August 19, 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Alcazaren, Paulo (7 May 2011). ["Our national sports complex"](http://www.philstar.com/modern-living/682910/our-national-sports-complex). The Philippine Star. Retrieved 28 May 2015.

## External links

- [Dionisio Calvo's FIBA Hall of Fame page](https://web.archive.org/web/20070930165327/http://www.halloffame.fiba.com/pages/eng/hof/indu/p/lid_9061_newsid/18035/contBio.html)

Philippines squad v t e Philippines squad – 1951 Asian Games – Gold medal Francisco Calilan Andrés de la Cruz Genaro Fernandez José Gochangco Rafael Hechanova Moro Lorenzo Carlos Loyzaga Antonio Martínez Lauro Mumar Ignacio Ramos Meliton Santos Mariano Tolentino Coach: Dionisio Calvo

v t e Philippines national football team – head coaches Amechazurra (1923) Villareal (1927) Calvo (1934) Calvo (1954) Rogers (1962–63) McLennan (1963) Pacheco (1967) Cutillas (1967–72) Broce (1973–74) Cutillas (1975–78, 1981–84) Honasan (1987) Cavagnaro (1989) Krautzun (1991–92) Araneta (1993) Casilao (1993–96) Cutillas (1996–2000) Alicante (2000) Imai (2001) Kambe (2002–03) Caslib (2004–07) Fegidero (2008) Cutillas (2008) Caslib (2008–09) Bulpin (2009–10) McMenemy (2010) Weiß (2011–14) Dooley (2014–17) Maroc (2017) Dooley (2017–18) Butcher (2018) Cooperc (2018) Gonzales (2018) Eriksson (2018–19) Cooper (2019) Milojević (2019) Cooper (2019–21) Hall (2021–22) Dooley (2022) Ferré (2022–23) Jrondi (2023) Weiß (2023–24) Saintfiet (2024) Fegideroc (2024) Capellas (2024–2025) Cuadratc (2025) Cuadrat (2025–) (c) = caretaker head coach

v t e FIBA Hall of Fame inductees FIBA Members Players Amaury Arcain A. Belov S. Belov Berkovich Bilé Bilić Bira Bird Bogut Borrell Cameron Chazalon Ćosić Cruz Dalipagić Daneu Delibašić Divac Donovan Dumerc Dydek Edwards Epi Fasoulas Faye Fijalkowski Furlong Galis Gasol A. Gaze Giannakis Golomeev González Haixia Hendrawan Herrera Horáková Jean-Jacques Jordan Łopatka Kićanović Korać Kropilák Kukoč Leslie Lijie Loyzaga Machanguana R. Maher Marcari Marčiulionis Marques Martín Marzorati Mbengue Meneghin Meyers Miao C. Miller R. Miller Moglia Mourning Mujanović Nash Németh O'Neal Nowitzki Oberto Oga Olajuwon Ortiz Park Pauchard Paulauskas Penicheiro Penney Petrović Pollini Radovanović Raga Rigaudeau Robertson Robinson Rodríguez Ronchetti Russell Sabonis Sakandelidze Sako Sato Schmidt Schrempf Semjonova Silva Slavnić Smildziņa-Budovska Staley Stojaković Stoyanova Štreimikytė Tarakanov Taylor Timms Tkachenko Türkoğlu Valdemoro Valters Volkov Voynova Wang Warda Yao Zassoulskaya Zdovc Zheng Zídek Coaches Alekseyeva Auriemma Barbosa Canavesi Daly Díaz-Miguel Donohue Ferrándiz Gamba Garnier L. Gaze A. Gomelsky E. Gomelsky Hejková Iba Ivković Kanela Kondrashin Krzyzewski Magnano T. Maher Messina Ludwik Miętta Newell Nikolić Novosel Pešić Peterson Planas Primo Rubini Smith Stirling Summitt Tanjević VanDerveer Vasojević Yow Žeravica Zuoyun Contributors Founding Federations: Argentine Czechoslovak Greek Italian Latvian Portuguese Romanian Swiss Airaldi Rivarola Ashry Atakol Bouffard Busnel Calvo Carneiro Dos Reis Greim Hepp Jones Killian Klieger Kozłowski López Martín Naismith Otto Pitzl Popović Ramsay Samaranch Saporta Scuri Seguro de Luna Semashko Sèye Moreau Stanković Steitz Stern Šaper Ueda Vitale Wahby Yoon Technical officials Arabadjian Bain Belošević Blanchard Dimou Hopenhaym Kassai Kostin Lazarov Pfeuti Rae Reverberi Rigas Righetto Teams 1992 USA Men's "Dream Team"

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dionisio Calvo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionisio_Calvo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionisio_Calvo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.