# 1954 Philippines FIBA World Championship team

The Philippines men's national basketball team won the bronze medal at the 1954 FIBA World Championship held in Brazil. Since the 2014, the event is known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup. This is also the Philippines' first appearance in the tournament.
To date, the Philippines' performance in the tournament is the best finish by an Asian country in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. The 1950s is often regarded as a "golden era" in Philippine basketball, with the Philippine team's feat in the 1954 championship a factor which contributed to the contemporary popularity of basketball in the country. The 1954 squad is also an inductee of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame of the Philippine Sports Commission.

## Roster

The Philippine squad for the 1954 FIBA World Championship consisted of 12 players. The roster was led by Lauro Mumar and Carlos Loyzaga, the latter being named to the 1954 World Championship's All-Tournament Team.
The team had six players who had previously competed in the Summer Olympics: Loyzaga, Florentino Bautista, Antonio Genato, Ponciano Saldaña, and Mariano Tolentino (1952 Helsinki) and team captain Mumar (1948 London). Some of the players had plied their trade in the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) or were part of collegiate teams playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
The team had an average height of 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) and had the average age of 23, Mumar was the eldest at 29 years old while Francisco Rabat was the youngest at 18 years old.
The team was led by head coach Herminio Silva. The squad was formed from a 24-man pool of players. The initial candidates were determined by a special basketball committee. The final squad formed by Silva is mostly same as the Philippine team which participated in the 1954 Asian Games. Asian Games captain Rafael Hechanova begged off having been recently married at the time. Jose Maria Cacho, Eduardo Lim and Ignacio Ramos also forego from participating in the 1954 championship. Mumar was named skipper in Hechanova's stead, while Rafael Barredo and Ben Francisco were named to the roster. Francis Wilson and Alfredo Sagarbarria were named alternates.
Former basketball player and government official Ambrosio Padilla also headed the 1954 squad.
| # | Name | Team |
| 3 | Lauro Mumar | Letran Knights |
| 4 | Francisco Rabat | Ateneo Blue Eagles |
| 5 | Napoleon Flores | UST Glowing Goldies |
| 6 | Mariano Tolentino | JRC Heavy Bombers |
| 7 | Benjamin Francisco | PAL Skymasters |
| 8 | Rafael Barretto | San Miguel–San Beda |
| 9 | Ponciano Saldaña | San Beda Red Lions |
| 10 | Florentino Bautista | Letran Knights |
| 11 | Ramon Manulat | UST Glowing Goldies |
| 12 | Bayani Amador | FEU Tamaraws |
| 13 | Antonio Genato | San Beda Red Lions |
| 14 | Carlos Loyzaga | San Beda Red Lions |
| Coach: Herminio Silva |||
| Source: |||

## Preliminary round

The Philippines was drawn to Group A with Paraguay men's national basketball team and host Brazil in the preliminary round. The Philippines won over Paraguay despite trailing in the first half. Brazil defeated the Philippines but the host's win over Paraguay ensured that the Philippines progress to the final round.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Brazil (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 160 | 114 | +46 | 4 | Final round |
| 2 | Philippines | 2 | 1 | 1 | 126 | 151 | −25 | 3 | Final round |
| 3 | Paraguay | 2 | 0 | 2 | 104 | 125 | −21 | 2 | Classification round |
* October 23 21:00
| Philippines | 64–52 | Paraguay |
| Scoring by half: 26–27, 38–25 |||
| Pts: Loyzaga 15 | | Pts: Zapattini 22 |
* Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
* October 24 21:45
| Brazil | 99–62 | Philippines |
| Scoring by half: 44–22, 55–40 |||
| Pts: Bonfietti 18 | | Pts: Mumar 22 |
* Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro

## Final round

All teams play one game against each other for a total of seven games. The teams with the best records are awarded medals.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | United States (C) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 482 | 300 | +182 | 14 |
| 2 | Brazil (H) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 418 | 341 | +77 | 13 |
| 3 | Philippines | 7 | 5 | 2 | 438 | 406 | +32 | 12 |
| 4 | France | 7 | 3 | 4 | 371 | 392 | −21 | 10 |
| 5 | Formosa | 7 | 2 | 5 | 345 | 405 | −60 | 9 |
| 6 | Uruguay | 7 | 2 | 5 | 422 | 446 | −24 | 9 |
| 7 | Canada | 7 | 2 | 5 | 433 | 498 | −65 | 9 |
| 8 | Israel | 7 | 1 | 6 | 330 | 451 | −121 | 8 |
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head record: Formosa 1–1 (1.06 GAvg), Uruguay 1–1 (1.03 GAvg), Canada 1–1 (0.91 GAvg)
The Philippines were tasked to face tournament favorites United States and expectedly lost to them. This was followed by wins over Israel, Formosa, Canada and a second lost to host Brazil.
The Philippines were assured of a bronze medal after their 66–60 win over France. This is due to Uruguay, their final opponent, having an inferior win–loss record. Nevertheless, the Philippines capped their campaign with a victory over Uruguay to formalize their third place finish.
* October 27 18:00
| Philippines | 43–56 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 22–25, 21–31 |||
| Pts: Mumar 14 | | Pts: Minter 15 |
* Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Eduardo Airaldi (PER), Helio Louzada (BRA)
* October 29 19:00
| Formosa | 38–48 | Philippines |
| Scoring by half: 21–21, 17–27 |||
| Pts: Wang Y.J. 12 | | Pts: Flores 12 |
* Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Renato Righetto (BRA), Juan M. Rossini (URU)
* October 30
| Israel | 56–90 | Philippines |
| Scoring by half: 30–37, 26–53 |||
| Pts: Schneor 14 | | Pts: Loyzaga, Saldaña 20 |
* Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Earl Schlup (USA), Aladino Astuto (BRA)
* October 31
| Brazil | 57–41 | Philippines |
| Scoring by half: 35–23, 22–18 |||
| Pts: de Almeida 15 | | Pts: Loyzaga 15 |
* Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Alberto Pedro (PAR), Juan M. Rossini (URU)
* November 1 19:30
| Canada | 76–83 | Philippines |
| Scoring by half: 35–41, 41–42 |||
| Pts: Ridd 37 | | Pts: Mumar 24 |
* Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Earl Schlup (USA), Orlando Tabuso (BRA)
* November 3
| Philippines | 66–60 | France |
| Scoring by half: 25–23, 41–37 |||
| Pts: Loyzaga 19 | | Pts: Haudegand 11 |
* Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Eduardo Airaldi (PER), Noli Coutinho (BRA)
* November 5
| Philippines | 67–63 | Uruguay |
| Scoring by half: 32–32, 35–31 |||
| Pts: Loyzaga 31 | | Pts: Lombardo 14 |
* Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro Referees: Aladino Astuto (BRA), Angelo Benvenuto (CHI)