23. Basketball Great, Sen. AMBROSIO B. PADILLA: A Legacy of Leadership in Sports,

In the annals of Philippine basketball history, one name stands out for achieving his ambitions in two supposedly diametrically opposed fields: Sports and Academics. In both disciplines, AMBROSIO B. PADILLA  left his exemplary mark of excellence—as captain of the Philippine Basketball Team, he gave the country its best-ever finish in the 1936 Olympiad in Berlin, placing 5^th among the  world’s best basketeers—an incredible feat that has yet to be duplicated. In the same breath, Padilla was a brilliant student of Ateneo , graduating summa cum laude, and then finishing law at the state university as Class Salutatorian.

Born in Lingayen, Pangasinan on 7 Dec 1910  to Dr. Nicanor Padilla and Ysabel Bibby, “Paddy” as he was called, grew up with 11 siblings. His formative high school and college years were spent at the Ateneo de Manila, where he developed a love for basketball. As a varsity player, he skippered the Blue Eagles that won the 1928 NCAA basketball championship.

At age 20, Padilla made it to the 1930 national cage team that went to Tokyo, Japan for the Far East Games, winning Gold after beating the host country. His team mates included Augusto Bautista (who won his 5^th basketball medal, plus medals in volleyball), Alfredo del Rosario, Pedro Villanueva, Mariano Filomeno, Rizalino Gamban, Johnny Schlobohm, Briccio Reynoso, Jesus Lacson Suarez and Jacinto Ciria Cruz. The formidable Filipinos repeated their triumph before a thrilled Manila home crowd in 1934, in what would be the last Far East Games. That same year, he earned his Law degree as Salutatorian  from the University of the Philippines, and became a bar topnotcher by placing 3^rd in the exams.

The highlight of his sporting career was to come 2 years later. Though Padilla – now a full-fledged lawyer--had earned a reputation as a skilled basketball player, he still had to pass the tryouts to secure a spot on the Olympic team for Berlin. There was no dearth of talents in the country with the most developed basketball sports program in Asia, thanks to the Americans. Padilla passed the tryouts with flying colors, and was named a member of the elite 1936 Philippine Basketball team.

It was in Berlin that the first official Olympic basketball tournament was played. It was held outdoors in a tennis stadium on courts of clay and sand. The International Basketball Federation passed a rule that would ban all players who were taller than 6 ft. 3 inches. The U.S., who stood to lose 3 players, protested and the rule was rescinded.

The Philippines had a great start, winning two in a row by beating Mexico and Estonia. But then, to shorten the tournament, a new ruling was announced that any loss thereafter would put a team in the consolation bracket.

In the quarterfinal, the Filipinos were pitted against the much taller United States players--and lost 56-23.  Thus ended their Olympic journey, though it was their one and only defeat. Like true sportsmen, the team continued on in the classification rounds, winning over Italy, and then Uruguay, landing the Philippines in 5^th place among 21 countries with a 4-1 record. The U.S. won 1st, Brazil in 2^nd, and Mexico—which the Philippines had defeated in the early rounds, placed 3^rd. Still, this was Asia’s best finish ever in the Olympic Games men’s basketball history.

The Olympians returned to a tumultuous welcome for their unprecedented feat, and when the Olympic hoopla died down, Padilla move on and went back to school at the University of Santo Tomas, earning his doctorate in Civil Law in 1938 with honors. Though officially retired from basketball, he worked tirelessly for the upliftment of the sport, serving as chairman of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF) Basketball Committee from 1938 to 1954.

In 1941, he married Lourdes “Lily” de las Alas (b. 18 Oct. 1917/d. 29 Jul. 1994) daughter of former finance secretary Antonio de las Alas under the Quezon administration. They became parents of 10 children: Josie, Vicente, Francisco, Ambrosio Jr, Lourdes, Felipe, Manny, Alexander, Gigi, and Rose.

In 1954, Padilla forayed into politics after his appointment as Solicitor General by Pres. Ramon Magsaysay. He was elected Senator in 1957, serving 3 terms until 1969, which was interrupted by Martial Law. After Marcos’s ouster, Pres. Corazon Aquino appointed him to the 1986 Constitutional Commission, which he served as Vice Chair.

His association with basketball continued with his FIBA appointment as Vice President for Asia (1956-1964). He was also elected President of the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC, now FIBA-Asia). Padilla also had the distinction of being the 1st president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (formerly PAAF)  in 1975.

The acclaimed Olympian and Senator, who served and honored the country in two different fields passed away on 11 Aug. 1996 at the Capitol Medical Center, and laid to rest in his beautiful retreat, Alpadi’s Farm in Antipolo. He was inducted post-humously into the Philippine National Basketball Hall of Fame in January 1999, along with his own Olympic coach, Chito Calvo.

In his honor, an award for top academically-gifted Ateneo student athletes, and a room at the Malcom Hall of the U.P. College of Law, bear his name. In 2010, a stamp was also struck to mark his birth centenary. Today, Ambrosio Padilla is regarded as one of the most important sports figures to shape the course of basketball development in Asia.

SOURCES:

Christian Bocobo and Beth Celis, Legends and Heroes of Philippine Basketball, ©2004 by Christian Bocobo, p. 114

Senator’s profile, Ambrosio Padilla: https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/senators/former_senators/ambrosio_padilla.htm

Ambrosio Padilla, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosio_Padilla

Bill Velasco, The Game of My Life column, “Unresolved Olympic Controversies”, 13 Feb. 2021, The Philippine Star

David Wallechinsky, The Complete Book of the Olympics, ©1988, Viking Penguin, “Basketball”, p. 173

“Basketball Olympian, Senator Dead at 85”, Manila Standard, 26 Aug. 1996 issue, p.4

 

15. PONCIANO SALDAÑA, 1954 World Cup Basketball Hotshot

PONCIANO “Pons”SALDAÑA  (b. 19 Nov. 1928) comes from the well-known Saldañas of Guagua, a family that played a big role in developing the town’s economy through their fishpond and cigarette industries .  His  family line relocated to Iloilo in the 40s, but "Ponching" stayed on in Manila for his studies. He enrolled at San Beda where he became a popular campus figure for his basketball skills. He graduated in 1948--a batchmate of the late Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. His ECOS yearbook described Pons as "silent, dignified and religious....with a rare technique for bewitching people."

Saldaña remained in San Beda for his college education, where he took up B.S. in Commercial Science. He was elected Class President in his Freshman and Sophomore years, and served as well as an officer of the Students'  Chamber of Commerce. He graduated in 1952.

In his 4 years in college, Saldaña was a stand-out varsity basketball player of the San Beda College Lions serving first as a Skipper (1947-1951) and  Team Captain, leading the Red Lions to the 1951-52 NCAA Championships as well as the National Open Championships.  The team was coached by Antonio Rius and Olympian Fely Fajardo. Early on, he was known for his shooting prowess in the court, and was part of the team that ended the Letran Knights unbeaten streak of games in 1950.

After graduation, he played for Philippine Airlines in the MICAA (Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association) games. In 1952, Saldaña was named to the national basketball team, which played at the Helsinki Olympics, placing 9th place overall, a respectable showing. He was a consistent double point-shooter against power teams from Argentina and Brazil.

At the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, the national team bagged Gold, beating toprated South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The Asian victory paved the way for a ticket to the 1954 FIBA World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Included in the team were Bedan schoolmates Caloy Loyzaga, Tony Genato and Rafael Barretto. Newspapers reported how the speedy Saldaña scored 20 points in the team’s match against Israel, thus putting the Philippines up for the finals.  The Philippines won a historic Bronze in the tourney, behind USA and host country Brazil, the best finish by an Asian nation in FIBA history.

In his later years, Pons Saldaña married Dra. Alice Tayag, a UST medical graduate of Concepcion, Tarlac and made their residence in Tabucan, Iloilo, where they owned and managed Isla Naburot, a nationally-famous island resort in Guimaras. His wife also worked as Chief Pathologist of St. Paul's Hospital in Iloilo City. Their children include a son, Boy, a proficient golfer, and Anne, a chef who currently manages the Naburot resort.

On the other hand, Saldaña had a successful post-basketball career himself. He was named provincial manager of the Philippine Air Lines in Iloilo, a position he held before succumbing to a heart attack in Makati on 21 Jul. 2006.

SOURCES:

Christian Bocobo, Beth Celis, Legends and Heroes of Philippine Basketball, “Ponciano