Philippines' greatest basketball player Loyzaga dies

Yahoo! News | January 28, 2016

View photo

The Philippines reached the finals of the last two FIBA Asia championships, losing to Iran in 2013 and to China in 2015, and qualified for the FIBA World Cup in Spain in 2014, finishing in 21st place (AFP Photo/Cristina Quicler)

Manila (AFP) - Tributes in the basketball-crazy Philippines flowed on Thursday for Carlos "The Big Difference" Loyzaga, a two-time Olympian widely regarded as the nation's greatest player who died aged 85.

Loyzaga, who was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 1954 Rio de Janeiro world championships in the Philippines' best finish at any international basketball tournament, died at a Manila hospital on Wednesday.