MANILA (Philippines) - Carlos ‘Caloy’ M. Loyzaga is the most revered name in Philippines basketball and is considered as the greatest Filipino player of all time.

A star at FIBA Basketball World Cups and Olympic Games for the Gilas, Loyzaga is being inducted posthumously into the FIBA Hall of Fame as a member of the 2023 class.

The "Big Difference" is what teammates, fans and the media called Loyzaga, a 1.91 m (6ft 3in) center.

Never was that truer than in 1954 in Rio de Janeiro when Loyzaga, at the second edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, was among the leading scorers at 16.4 points per game.

The Philippines claimed third place and Loyzaga was named to the event's All-Star Five. That remains the only time an Asian team has made it to the podium of a World Cup or Olympics.

It was the first of two World Cups for Loyzaga, who also played five years later when the competition was staged in Uruguay. That Gilas team went 4-2 and came in eighth.

At the Olympics, Loyzaga featured at the 1952 Helsinki Games, when the Philippines were ninth, and the 1956 Melbourne Games, when he was the tournament's fifth leading scorer at 17.3 points per game and the Gilas finished seventh.

Loyzaga was also famous for his great performances on a regional level. He led the Philippines to four Asian Games titles, and to two FIBA Asia Cup wins in 1960 and 1963.

On the club level, he shone with the teams he played for. In 1949, he claimed his first title, winning the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA). Throughout his career, he would add nine Philippines National Open and three Philippines NCAA League titles to his spectacular CV.

Later, he also got a taste of coaching. At the 1967 FIBA Asia Cup, he pulled the right strings as the Philippines beat host Korea in the Final before leading the Filipinos at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

“King Caloy, indeed, is the Big Difference," said Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas President Al S. Panlilio.

"With his incomparable talent, he put Philippine basketball on the world map and left an indelible mark in the global consciousness with his achievements on the international stage."

Loyzaga, who was born in 1930 and passed away in 2016, remains the legend of legends in Philippines basketball.

He is being enshrined, posthumously, in the Class of 2023 that includes Penny Taylor (Australia), Yuko Oga (Japan), Katrina McClain (USA), Amaya Valdemoro (Spain), Wlamir Marques (Brazil), Yao Ming (China), Sonny Hendrawan (Indonesia), Angelo Monteiro dos Santos Victoriano (Angola), and Zurab Sakandelidze (Georgia). The Class also includes deserved recognition for coaching duo Valerie Garnier (France) and Alessandro Gamba (Italy).

The 2023 FIBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place after the conclusion of the FIBA Congress on August 23, 2023, in Manila, Philippines, ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.