Ernesto Jose Francisco "Joey" Cuerva Loyzaga (born September 23, 1961) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player.

Collegiate / amateur career

Loyzaga broke into the hoops limelight as a Red Cub for

San Beda College San Beda University () is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Order of Saint Benedict in San Miguel, Manila, Philippines. It was founded by the Benedictines in 1901. The main campus is situated ...

in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA; ) is an athletic association of ten private colleges and universities in Metro Manila, Philippines. Established in 1924, it is the oldest collegiate athletic association in the country. It i ...

. He was elevated to the senior Red Lions where he spent the next three years as a starter for then-SBC coach

Loreto Carbonell Loreto "Bonnie" Dilema Carbonell (1933 – 23 September 2017) was a Philippines, Filipino basketball player who competed in the Basketball at the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1956 Summer Olympics. Career Playing career Sometime during his early years, F ...

. Starting in 1980, Loyzaga saw action in the Interclub and MICAA tournaments. He moved from Mendiola to the Legarda campus of the

Arellano University Arellano University (AU) is a private university, private, nonsectarian university located in Manila, the Philippines. It was founded in 1938 as a law school by Florentino Cayco Sr., the first Filipino Undersecretary of Public Instruction. The u ...

because of the strict policy of the NCAA regarding participation in commercial leagues.

National team career

Loyzaga also saw action as a national team campaigner in the

1982 Asian Games The 9th Asian Games (), also known as Delhi 1982 (), were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of the Olymp ...

in New Delhi, India, under coach

Nat Canson Nathaniel Canson, also known as Nat Canson, is a Filipino former basketball player and coach. A University of the East Warrior, Canson played for Crispa, Meralco, Manilabank, San Miguel, 7-Up and Toyota is a Japanese Multinational co ...

, as well as being part of the champion Philippine squad of coach Larry Albano, which brought home the 1983 SEA Games basketball crown.

PBA career

Loyzaga played professional basketball in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

starting in 1984. He was one of the two rookies signed by Gold Eagle Beer that season and reunited with former mentor Nat Canson. When the SMC franchise took a leave of absence in the 1986 PBA season, Loyzaga found his way with the league's most popular team;

Ginebra San Miguel Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (; GSMI), formerly La Tondeña Distillers, Inc., is a Philippines-based diversified beverage company majority-owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. History La Tondeña was established in 1902 by Carlos T. Pal ...

, and became teammates with older brother

Chito Loyzaga Joaquín "Chito" Cuerva Loyzaga (born August 29, 1958) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and commissioner. He played for the San Beda College in the NCAA before going on to play in the Philippine Basketball Association. PBA ...

. They won two championships together at Ginebra and Joey's most memorable finals performance was the title-clinching Game four of the 1988 All-Filipino finals against Purefoods where he topscored for the team, together with playing-coach

Robert Jaworski Robert Vincent Salazar Jaworski Sr. (; born March 8, 1946), also known by his nicknames Sonny, Big J, and Jawo (), is a Filipino former professional basketball player, head coach and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines fro ...

, with 28 points apiece. Loyzaga was dropped from the Añejo (formerly Ginebra) lineup beginning the 1990 PBA season and was picked by expansion franchise Pop Cola from the pool. He spent two seasons with the RFM ballclub before moving to Shell and played for two years as well. Loyzaga did return to Ginebra for one season in 1994 but his career was already downhill at that point, he managed to stage a comeback four years later with Alaska.

Personal life

Loyzaga is the son of Philippine basketball great

Carlos Loyzaga Carlos "Caloy" Loyzaga y Matute (August 29, 1930 – January 27, 2016) was a Filipino basketball player, coach and politician. He was the most dominant basketball player of his era in the Philippines and is considered as the greatest Filipino ba ...

and Vicky Cuerva. He and brother

became one of the few siblings to have played in the PBA, eventually playing together with Ginebra San Miguel.The son of ‘the Big Difference’ makes a difference
He was once romantically linked to actress

Gretchen Barretto Gretchen Castelo Barretto (; born March 6, 1970) is a Filipino former actress and socialite. She was launched in Regal Films' ''14 Going on Steady'' as a singer-actress, with the release of her debut single "Going Steady", which served as the ...

. Loyzaga currently lives in Australia with his family.

References

External links

Ex-Ginebra guard Joey Loyzaga, now based in Australia, drops by Gilas Practice
TV5.Espn.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Loyzaga, Joey 1961 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) players Shooting guards Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Filipino people of Basque descent Filipino people of Spanish descent Filipino men's basketball players San Beda Red Lions basketball players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Basketball players from Manila Arellano Chiefs basketball players