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By Krista Montealegre, Reporter
Everything started with the Olympic dream.
The entire nation pinned its hopes on the 15
Filipinos who qualified for the Beijing Games to end the country’s
hunt for that first-ever elusive gold medal from reputedly the most
competitive arena in the world for any athlete. A cash pot of P15
million even awaited the first Filipino Olympic champion. The
“Fighting 15” fought with Filipino pride in China in August but
in the end, the battle failed to produce the most prized trophy of
all.
Wushu bet Willy Wang gave Filipinos some form of
consolation after winning the gold medal in the combined events of
men’s nanquan and nangun. His medal, however, was not included in
the overall medal tally of the Games, since wushu was only a
demonstration sport.
The country’s sporting woes somehow ended late
in the year when boxing hero Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao demolished
superstar Oscar De La Hoya after eight rounds of their “Dream
Match” on December 7.
“PacMan” bravely climbed up the ring, all
odds in favor of Golden Boy, as De La Hoya was known. But after
sizing up his opponent, Pacquiao neutralized De La Hoya’s height
and reach advantages with his tremendous display of speed and power.
De La Hoya was forced to absorb the worst beating of his career
while Pacquiao solidified his status among the world’s boxing
elite, having won titles in four different weight divisions—the
latest in the run-up to the Las Vegas clash being the World Boxing
Council lightweight belt he obtained by defeating Mexican David
Diaz.
His dominance over De La Hoya erased doubts that
he had what it took against the American, having won over Juan
Manuel Marquez only by a controversial split decision.
In a fitting follow-up to Pacquiao’s
success, veteran Olympian Harry Tañamor, also in late December,
made up for a forgettable performance in the Beijing Olympiad by
winning the gold medal in the first Boxing World Cup held in Russia.
Tañamor, who bowed to Manyo Plange of Ghana in the first round of
Olympic boxing bouts in China, made the Filipinos proud when he
defeated Cuban favorite Yampier Hernandez in the finals of the light
flyweight division of the crack amateur boxing meet.
Another Beijing veteran, the 17-year-old Hidilyn
Diaz, also redeemed herself by winning two golds and one silver in
the Asian Junior Weightlifting Championships.
Young athletes also made a name for themselves
this year. Fourteen-year-old golfer Dottie Ardina, five-time US Kids
World Championship titlist, scored impressive wins to capture the
Callaway Junior World and the Eagle Creek Open titles.
In chess, Wesley So, who at the age of 14 is the
world’s youngest grandmaster, ruled the Dubai Open Chess
Championships and got his second individual gold medal in the World
Under-16 Chess Olympiad in Turkey to lead the country to a
third-place finish.
College sports
In the battle for school pride in the collegiate
level, Ateneo, led by skipper Chris Tiu and the vastly improved
Rabeh Al-Hussaini, swept rival and reigning champion La Salle in the
finals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines
(UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.
The Green Archers, however, avenged its loss to
the Blue Eagles in the UAAP by defeating the Katipunan-based squad
in the finals of the Philippine Collegiate Championships.
San Beda also completed its three-peat victory
in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s
basketball tournament after surviving Jose Rizal University in the
championships. The Letran Knights, however, relegated the Red Lions
to fourth place in the collegiate championships.
Harbour Centre continued to assert its dominance
in the Philippine Basketball League by beating Hapee Toothpaste for
its fifth consecutive crown. Jason Castro of Batang Pier also made a
feat by becoming the country’s first import to play in a foreign
league. Castro suited up for the Singapore Slingers in the
Australian National Basketball League before being drafted by Talk
‘N Text in the Philippine Basketball Association.
Santa Lucia and Barangay Ginebra, meanwhile,
ruled the two conferences of the 2007-2008 season of the PBA. The
Realtors won their first All-Filipino title at the expense of the
Purefoods TJ Giants in seven games. Import Chris Alexander powered
an undermanned Ginebra team to the Fiesta Conference crown, beating
Air21 to live up to his team’s never-say-die attitude.
International tournaments
The country also played host to many
international tournaments, showcasing the Filipinos’ hospitable
culture and raising the level of competition in Philippine sports at
the same time.
The Basketball Association of the
Philippines-Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas staged the Asian
University Basketball Championships in Cebu City that saw Huaquiao
University of China claim the title against local bet and seven-time
CESAFI champion University of Visayas.
The World Ten Ball Championships held at the
Philippine International Convention Center gathered 128 of the
world’s best cue masters with Darren Appleton of England ruling
the tournament.
The Philippine Volleyball Federation organized
the seventh Asian Youth Girls Volleyball Championships in the
Philsports Arena with powerhouse Japan dominating favorite China in
the finals.
Politics took the spotlight away from the
athletes as leadership conflicts heightened within national sports
associations such as swimming, basketball, badminton, wushu,
wrestling, archery and karate.
The country also saw the closest Philippine
Olympic Committee polls in history, with incumbent Jose “Peping”
Cojuangco of equestrian being reelected as committee president,
edging Art Macapagal of shooting fame in a 21-19 vote.
With a fresh four-year mandate, Cojuangco said
he would push for stronger legislative measures to ensure a bigger
budget for Philippine sports.
Chipping in was Philippine Sports Commission
Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez, who led a drive for revival of
the P35-million Philippine Sports Institute (PSI). Ramirez said this
institute is the cure to the ailing Philippine sports.
“We envision the PSI as the place where we
nurture not only physical strength but also the intellectual
capacity of our athletes, coaches and sports officials. We always
dream of winning an Olympic gold but this will remain a dream as
long as we don’t have a sports institute to offer,” he added.
Just like any other university, Ramirez said the
institute would offer leadership education to coaches and athletes
besides launching a certification program for coaches by April or
May next year.
The cooperation between the government and the
private sector evidently made the institute’s dream a reality.
With the likes of business magnate Manny Pangilinan and shipping
tycoon Mikee Romero helping in sports development, anything is
possible.
Help that, perhaps, would make the country’s
golden dream come true in the 2012 London Olympics.
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