A Filipino man who lost his right leg after being hit by a bus has become the star player of his local basketball team.

Eddie Wenceslao, 39, was crossing the road when he bravely leapt in front of the out-of-control vehicle to save a pensioner from being struck in 2000.

The former cycle messenger, then only 19, saved the old man but his own leg was crushed by the vehicle in Manila, the Philippines.

His thigh bones were severely damaged so the doctors had to amputate his leg because it could cause complications with other parts of his body.

After the surgery, he was out of work for several months, and almost spiralled into depression but he said friends and family helped him regain his confidence.

He said: "It hurt so much that even a little movement would cause me to faint. When my wounds healed, my friends always asked me to play basketball. At first, I refused but I know I can.

"I told them, ‘I can do this.' They were surprised once I started playing, they said, ‘he’s a shooter'.''

With his supportive friends, Eddie started to play basketball in a wheelchair and slowly transitioned to using crutches.

He practised every day with friends despite slipping several times but his leg only became stronger through continuous playing.

Soon enough, he was confident enough to enter a real game as he can jump with enough speed to keep up with most of the players.

Eddie is a talented shooter, so he was always assigned as a shooting guard. After several street basketball games, he joined a city basketball league with his friends.

Footage taken on November 9 shows Eddie playing basketball with his friends at a street basketball court.

Now, the amputee works as an on-call mechanic while keeping his hobby and earning enough to support his family.

Together with his wife, Eddie takes care of his two sons, who say "their father is their basketball idol and hope to be like him when they grow up."