With the abundance of talents during the 2001 PBA Draft, jaded observers were one in saying that the educated and gentlemanly Francis Zamora will not be on the elite list of draftees dominated by the likes of Willie Miller and Mark Caguioa.
![Caloy owned a 58-14 record in 10 global competitions. [Henry Liao photo]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/146150589_3685379861583295_7043500414210937829_n-400x200.jpg)
He was big. He was great. He was a game changer. Rolled into one, he was Carlos Loyzaga, the greatest athlete in Philippine basketball history.
![CJ Perez [photo credit: PBA Images]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/PBA-Images-21-e1612345094369-400x200.jpg)
We can discuss and judge the CJ Perez trade but at the end of the day, it’s a done deal.
![The 1954 Nationals that won the bronze medal in the 1954 World tournament. [Henry Liao photo]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/144950691_774393143285027_3026363166572188338_n-400x200.jpg)
A dozen countries were in attendance in the 1954 edition – seven from the Americas, three from Europe and two from Asia, the Philippines and Formosa (Taiwan/now known as Chinese-Taipei).
![PH National Team that won the bronze in 1954 World Basketball in Rio de Janeiro. [Henry Liao photo]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/144429345_221818172990075_1891445414791191084_n-400x200.jpg)
According to the famous historian and National Artist awardee Nick Joaquin, basketball was introduced to Filipinos within the historic walls of Intramuros, Manila. Unclear, however, is the exact date of the first basketball game ever played on Philippine soil.
![Kai Sotto [FIBA.com photo]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/4622-400x200.jpg)
Unlike Japeth Aguilar and Kobe Paras before him, Kai Sotto was not simply a walk-in, trying his luck in American basketball.
Officially, I became a professional sportswriter on June 6, 1981, when my first materials on basketball, particularly about the NBA, were published in Sports World, a weekly national sports magazine.