On that day in 1971, the Philippine men’s basketball team formally qualified for Olympic competition for the last time. Masatomo Taniguchi and Shigeaki Abe played consistently for the home team, winning the championship over the Filipinos. “When we got to the Olympics, we looked for the Japanese team,” laughs Martirez, now a Pasig City councilor. This entitled the Philippines to play in the 1974 World Basketball Championship in Puerto Rico. Teams are entitled to double the incentive of an individual athlete, to be divided equally among the team members.

Source: Philippine Star November 10, 2019 17:00 UTC