A Carlos “Caloy” Loyzaga in his prime can still make his presence felt and dominate for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Olympian Freddie Webb said the 6-foot-3 Loyzaga was way ahead of his time as he can both terrorize the paint while beating the defenders from the perimeter with his graceful dribbling, furious attacks and feathery shooting touch from the outside.
Loyzaga was posthumously enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame in a glittery ceremony on Wednesday at the Garden Harbour Tent of the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.
Joining Loyzaga, fondly called “The Big Difference” for his huge impact in the playing court, in the latest batch of Hall of Fame inductees are former National Basketball Association star Yao Ming, Katrina McClain, Amaya Valdemoro, Yuko Oga, Penny Taylor, Wlamir Marques,
Liem Tjien Siong, Angelo Monteiro dos Santos Victoriano, Zurab Sakandelidze, Valerie Garnier and Allesandro Gamba.
Webb, a one-time teammate of Loyzaga, said the cage great’s style of play will still be a hit even in this modern era.
“The game has changed and, no doubt, that there are more skillful, bigger players now,” Webb told DAILY TRIBUNE in a telephone interview, recalling the greatness of Loyzaga.
“But Caloy was ahead of his time. At that time, he was the only bona fide big man for the Philippines who can dribble to the length of the court. He was an excellent ball hander for a big guy.”
Webb and Loyzaga played for only one season and that was with YCO in the old Manila Industrial Commercial Athletic Association, where the team established a dynasty.\
“I played with him for one season and I witnessed his retirement,” added Webb, who was part of the last Philippine team that played in the Olympics in 1972 in Munich.
“There was no news. They just announced that Caloy is retiring, and he would go on to become the coach later on.”
But Webb owes a great deal of his career to Loyzaga which became the reason why he was called “Fast Break Freddie.”
“There were two people who influenced me to become ‘Fast Break Freddie.’ The first one is my wife, as I would run very fast whenever she gets mad,” said Webb in jest.
Turning serious, Webb said it was Loyzaga’s abilities as a big man that allowed him to easily score on transition.
“He would tell me whenever the ball goes up, I have to run quickly to the other end as he would get the rebound and throw the ball to me, which led to easy layups,” he said.
Loyzaga coached Webb and even though he wasn’t included in the 1968 Olympic squad in Mexico, he had no regrets not being included in that roster.
“It was for the best,” said Webb, who had to fight for spots with Robert Jaworski, the late Danny Florencio and Ed Ocampo for the guard positions.
