Dionisio Calvo

Who was Dionisio Calvo?

Dionisio "Chito" Calvo was a Filipino basketball player, swimmer, and national team head coach. He was one of the greatest Filipino sportsmen in history and helped in the development of both Philippine and Asian basketball.

Born in Manila, Philippines, he was a guard for the championship-winning Philippine basketball team alongside Lou Salvador in the 1925 Far Eastern Games, though he earlier represented the country not as a basketball player. He was a member of the Philippine national swimming team that competed in the 1921 and 1923 Far Eastern Games.

Calvo led the University of the Philippines to the 1926 NCAA title but earlier captained the Manila Sporting Goods Co. to Philippine Open title. He eventually retired to focus on college coaching.

His coaching career was a success, mentoring basketball championship teams of San Beda College, and the University of Santo Tomas. He also coached the champion teams of De La Salle College in basketball and football.

Later, Calvo coached the Philippines men's national basketball team to a fifth place finish in the 1936 Summer Olympics held at Berlin, Germany. The fifth place finish remained the best finish by the national team and by an Asian country in the Olympic Games basketball history. The team included Filipino legends Ambrosio Padilla, Charlie Borck and Jacinto Ciria Cruz. He later coached the Philippines national football team that finished with a tie for second place in the 1934 Far Eastern Games.