“If BRAVE CF thinks I have to prove it again, then so be it. I am a fighter, and my job is to fight and win fights. Like I said in the past, line them up and I will keep knocking them down. It’s that simple,” – Rolando Dy
![Michael Jordan [Henry Liao photo]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/148106883_329343351730861_4411297622131434413_n-e1613097979733-400x200.jpg)
Valentine’s Day will be remembered for the day Michael Jordan’s famed No. 23 jersey with the Chicago Bulls was lost in the locker room just before the team was to play the Orlando Magic. It turned out to a double whammy for His Airness as the Magic also recorded a 135-129 overtime victory.
Learn more about the Philippine national team that competed in the ABC Championship held here in Manila.
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.
![Tom 'Iceman' Flores [YouTube screen capture]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screenshot_142-400x200.png)
Tom “The Iceman” Flores is a four-time pro-football champion and a trailblazing coach, but he has yet to receive his sport’s greatest honor: induction into the hall. A noted Coors Light drinker, Flores is about to get a big show of support from his favorite beer.
![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 DLSU Green Archers have added a backup import in the person of Bright Chinedum Nwankwo from Nigeria. He was described as someone who is molded like NBA player Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistons.
![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.