Ambrosio Padilla

Ambrosio "Paddy" Bibby Padilla (Tagalog: [paˈdilja]; December 7, 1910 – August 11, 1996[3][4]) was a Filipino basketball player, lawyer, and an elected member of the Senate of the Philippines.

In 1930, Padilla played for the Philippines which won the gold medal of the 9th Far Eastern Games basketball tournament in Tokyo, Japan.

In 1934, he captained the national team that retained the basketball championship in the 10th Far Eastern Games held at home for the final time.

The team was coached by Dionisio Calvo and, aside from Padilla, boasted of great players like Ciria Cruz and Charles Borck.

He was one of the forefathers and later elected President of the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC), now known as FIBA Asia, from 1960 to 1966 with his former coach Dionisio Calvo as the Secretary-General.

Padilla, who died on August 11, 1996, was inducted into the Philippine National Basketball Hall of Fame in January 1999 along with other Filipino basketball greats like Carlos Loyzaga, Lauro Mumar, Jacinto Ciria Cruz, Charles Borck, Edgardo Ocampo, Mariano Tolentino, and his own Olympic coach Chito Calvo.

Senator Padilla on a 2010 stamp of the Philippines