Tony Genato

Tony Genato took up basketball at a young age, but World War II interrupted the early days of his playing career. At the end of the conflict, he entered San Beda College (now San Beda University) where he played the game while studying for a pre-med degree. His busiest year came in 1952, when he entered the University of Santo Tomas for medicine, joined the YCO Athletic Club’s basketball section, and represented the Philippines at the Helsinki Olympics. At that tournament, his country came out on top of its pool during the qualification round, but was then eliminated in round one.

Genato and the Philippines had much more success at the 1954 World Championships, where they took home a bronze medal, as well as at that year’s Asian Games, where they captured gold. At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Genato retired from active competition in 1959 and went on to have a career in coaching. His jersey was retired from the national team in 2020.