Basketball History: Origin of the Sport

In contrast to other sports, basketball has a clear origin. It is not the evolution from an ancient game or another sport and the inventor is well known: Dr. James Naismith. Naismith was born in 1861 in Ramsay township, Ontario, Canada. He graduated as a physician at McGill University in Montreal and was primarily interested in sports physiology. In 1891, while working as a physical education teacher at the YMCA International Training School (today, Springfield College) in the United States, Naismith was faced with the problem of finding in 14 days an indoor game to provide "athletic distraction" for the students at the School for Christian Workers (Naismith was also a Presbyterian minister). After discarding the idea of adapting outdoor games like soccer and lacrosse, Naismith recalled the concept of a game of his school days known as duck-on-a-rock that involved accuracy attempting to knock a "duck" off the top of a large rock by tossing another rock at it. Starting from there, Naismith developed a set of 13 rules that gave origin to the game of basketball. Of course it was not exactly as we know it today. The first game was played with a soccer ball and two peach baskets nailed 10-feet high used as goals, on a court just half the size of a present-day court. The baskets retained their bottoms so balls scored into the basket had to be poked out with a long dowel each time and dribbling (bouncing of the ball up and down while moving) was not part of the original game. The sport was an instant success and thanks to the initial impulse received by the YMCA movement, basketball's popularity quickly grew nationwide and was introduced in many nations. Although Naismith never saw the game develop into the spectacular game we know these days, he had the honor to witness basketball become an Olympic sport at the 1936 Games held in Berlin.

These are James Naismith original thirteen rules of basketball:

1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands. 2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist. 3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man running at good speed. 4. The ball must be held in or between the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it. 5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent. The first infringement of this rule by any person shall count as a foul; the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game. No substitution shall be allowed. 6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violations of Rules 3 and 4 and such as described in Rule 5. 7. If either side make three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul). 8. Goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the ground into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edge and the opponents move the basket, it shall count as a goal. 9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it. In case of dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them. 10.The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have the power to disqualify men according to Rule 5. 11.The referee shall be the judge of the ball and decide when it is in play in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee. 12.The time shall be two 15-minute halves with five minutes' rest between. 13.The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winners.

Comparison between FIBA and NBA basketball rules. RULE Periods Duration of Periods Overtime Duration Rest Time Between 1st / 2nd and 3rd / 4th Periods Length of Halftime Court Length Size of Lane 3-Point Line Shot Clock Shot Clock Reset Back Court Violation Game Clock Stops After Successful FG Player Foul Limit Bonus Free Throw Number of Players Permitted On Free Throw Lane Jump Ball Legal Alley-Oop Touch Ball On/Above Cylinder Closely Guarded For 5 Seconds Number of Referees FIBA Four 10 minutes 5 minutes 2 minutes 15 minutes 91' 10" x 49' 2.5" 19 ' 8.2" x 19' 0.3" 20' 6.1 " 24 seconds FG attempt hits rim 8 seconds Last 2 minutes of 4th period and overtime 5 5th foul per period (two FTs) NBA Four 12 minutes 5 minutes 2 minutes, 10 seconds 15 minutes 94' x 50' 16' x 19' 23' 9" (22' in corner) 24 seconds FG attempt hits rim 8 seconds Last 2 minutes of 4th period and overtime 6 5th foul per period (one-and-one only)

5 (three defensive, two offensive) 5 (three defensive, two offensive) Yes Yes Yes, allowed Yes (while holding the ball) Two (three can be used in competitions if the Zone or host federation wish to) Yes Yes Not allowed No Three Six 60-second and one 20second per half 3 additional 60-second

One 60-second in each of the 1st Timeouts in Regulation three periods, two 60-second in 4th period Timeouts in O vertime 1 additional 60-second

Timeouts Called By Size of Basketball Legal Jersey Numbers

Coach Maximum Circumference 78 cm (30.7") only from 4 to 15

Player in game Around channels 29 1/2" to 29 3/4" Across channels 29 5/8" to 29 7/8" All numbers are allowed

A Brief History of Philippine Basketball

Basketball is one of the main influences of the Americans on the Filipinos. Basketball is widely considered as the most popular sport in the Philippines. Prior to the 1900s basketball was virtually an unknown sport in the Philippines. Due to the massive influence Spain brought during their 300-year colonization of the islands, Filipinos are more into cockfighting and other forms of social gambling. There are also indigenous Filipino martial arts such as the Arnis de Mano. Cockfighting, gambling and Arnis de Mano dominated the Philippine sports landscape. However, all of that would change in the 1900s. The entry of the Americans into the Philippine archipelago marked the birth of basketball in the Philippines. Filipinos easily embraced basketball due to its competitive and action-packed nature. It was also during the time of American colonization when the first-ever Philippine national basketball team was formed. The team competed in the first ever Far Eastern Championship Games which was incidentally held in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. The Philippines dominated basketball tournaments of the Far Eastern Championship Games, finishing with a gold medal in all but one edition of the Games. Bowing only against China in 1921 and settling for a silver medal finish.

The Philippines also participated in the first ever Olympic basketball tournament, finishing fifth with a 4-1 win-loss record. The Philippine team won against Italy, Estonia, Mexico and Uruguay but failed to upset the eventual champion Team USA College and universities also started to embrace the sport of basketball, incorporating the sport in their physical education curriculum. Similarly, the collegiate leagues the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines were established in 1924 and 1938 respectively. In 1948, the Philippines became the first basketball team to score at least 100 points in Olympic competitions, outclassing Iraq, 102-30. During the 1950s, the Philippines unleashed the legendary tandem of Lauro Mumar and Carlos Loyzaga, resulting into neck-to-neck battle against basketball some of the top powerhouse teams of the world including the US and the Soviet Union. The Philippines finished third in the 1954 FIBA World Champions courtesy of Mumar and Loyzaga. The dynamic duo also led the Philippines to several Asian Games gold medals during the decade. During the 1960s, Philippine basketball became more concentrated in the collegiate and Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) wars that feature the likes of Sonny Jaworski and Ramon Fernandez. In 1975, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) was established. It was the first play-for-pay basketball league in Asia. The early years of the PBA saw the rivalry of Jaworksis Toyota Super Corollas against the Atoy Co-fueled Crispa Redmanizers. The succeeding years of Philippine basketball saw the emergence of newer and fresher basketball talents from the likes of Ricardo Brown, Ato Agustin, Allan Caidic, Benjie Paras and Hector Calma to the later generations of Danny Seigle, Danny Ildefonso, Kenneth Duremdes, Asi Taulava and Mark Caguioa. Today, basketball still remains as the number one sport in the Philippines. Despite competition from emerging sports such as the rejuvenated badminton and the football-powered Azkals, the sport of basketball will forever remain etched in the hearts and minds of the sports-loving Filipino people.