Lauro "The Fox" Mumar (March 6, 1924 – December 20, 1990) was a Filipino

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and later served as the national team head coach of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He was one of the greatest Filipino players of his time, playing alongside compatriot legend

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 ...

. He is the father of Lawrence "Larry" Mumar (30 November 1946 – 23 October 2001) who was also a basketball player. He is the grandfather of L.A. Mumar,

Vico Sotto Victor Ma. Regis "Vico" Nubla Sotto (; born June 17, 1989) is a Filipino politician who has served as the 12th mayor of Pasig since 2019. He previously served as a member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, Pasig City Council for the first district ...

's half-brother.

Career

Early years

In 1946, he led the San Carlos College of

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

to the first post-war Inter-Collegiate basketball championship. He later moved to Manila to play for the varsity team of

Letran College The Colegio de San Juan de Letran (), also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. I ...

where he led the squad nicknamed "Murder Inc." to the 1950 NCAA Philippines championship title. Mumar also led the Manila Ports Terminal that won the

Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association The Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) was a sports association which existed in Manila, Philippines from 1938 to 1981. Throughout its existence, it staged various sports and was participated by prominent Philippine c ...

(MICAA) championship.

International career

He played for the Philippines that finished 12th in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

held at

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He later went on to represent the country in the

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

and

1954 Asian Games The 1954 Asian Games (), officially known as the Second Asian Games – Manila 1954, were a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines, from May 1 to 9, 1954. A total of 970 athletes from 19 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in ...

to win two gold medals.

1954 FIBA World Championship

Mumar was banned for life from playing for the national team by the

Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation The Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF) was the governing body of sports in the Philippines and the predecessor of the Philippine Olympic Committee. History The Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation was organized in a permanent basi ...

when he failed to join the rest of the

1954 FIBA World Championship The 1954 FIBA Basketball World Cup, FIBA World Championship (also called the 2nd World Basketball Championship – 1954) was the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was held by the International Basketball ...

national squad that left Manila for the United States where the team was set to play tune-up games. This led to a national controversy where his ban was discussed in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, and it was found out that he was in Bohol waiting for pocket money from his parents, which never arrived to be able to go to the capital. President

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash, aircraft disast ...

talked with PAAF officials to overturn the ban and was successful. Mumar was then able to join the rest of the team in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The national squad flew to Cuba and participated in the scrimmage against that country's national team. They won 49–45 over Cuba which was regarded as an upset by the home team. Cuba decided not to participate in the world tournament after the loss. The Philippines finished third and captured the bronze medal, the best finish ever by the country in the World Championships, losing only to the United States and Brazil.

Coaching career

When he retired from playing basketball he went on to coaching. He has called the shots in collegiate basketball with FEATI, UST and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. In the commercial leagues, he was the head coach of Mariwasa,

Meralco The Manila Electric Company, also known as Meralco (, , stylized in uppercase), is an electric power distribution company in the Philippines. It is Metro Manila's only electric power distributor and holds the power distribution franchise for 3 ...

, U/Tex, Seven-Up, Filmanbank and Winston. While he was at the helm, Meralco won the 1971

Manila Industrial Commercial Athletic Association The Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) was a sports association which existed in Manila, Philippines from 1938 to 1981. Throughout its existence, it staged various sports and was participated by prominent Philippine c ...

title winning over Crispa in the final. Mumar coached the Philippine national team to a third-place finish in the 1969 Asian Basketball Confederation Championship (now

FIBA Asia Championship The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the tourna ...

) in Bangkok. After his sole stint with the national team he went to India to teach basketball in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

along with American coaches. He was later named head coach of the Indian national team.

Later years and legacy

In 1981, Mumar worked as a panel analyst with Dick Ildefonso for the PBA games on MBS-4. He was also a radio TV commentator with

Joe Cantada Jose J. Cantada, better known as "Smokin'" Joe Cantada, (March 15, 1942 – March 22, 1992) was a Filipino TV host, anchor & commentator. He died of lung cancer in March 1992. He distinguished himself with his smooth baritone voice and his ...

covering NCAA contest in the past. In 2005, he was inducted into the Philippine Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame alongside his teammate

Awards and achievements

*1948 Summer Olympics, 12th place *1951 Asian Games, champions *1954 Asian Games, champions *1954 FIBA World Championship bronze medalist (third place) *1969 FIBA Asia Championship bronze medalist (third place) as coach *Philippine National Basketball Hall of Fame

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mumar, Lauro Filipino men's basketball coaches National team coaches Letran Knights basketball players Basketball players from Bohol Boholano people Basketball players at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players for the Philippines 1924 births 1990 deaths Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball players at the 1951 Asian Games Basketball players at the 1954 Asian Games Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players Philippines men's national basketball team coaches Filipino expatriate basketball people in India Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Medalists at the 1951 Asian Games Medalists at the 1954 Asian Games USC Warriors basketball players 1954 FIBA World Championship players UST Growling Tigers basketball coaches U/Tex Wranglers coaches 20th-century Filipino sportsmen