The country’s campaign in the London Olympic Games was considered as one of those “forgettable moments” of 2012. But the 11-member Philippine contingent went home with their heads up, saying that despite struggling, quitting was never an option during the entire two-week quadrennial meet.

“We just went out and fight for our country. It’s a great experience playing with some of the world’s best athletes. No one gave up, we tried our best but the field was just too strong for us,” said Asia’s former long jump queen Marestella Torres.

The four-time Southeast Asian Games champion had a 6.22-meter performance for 22nd place in a field of 30 participants.

Boxer Mark Anthony Barriga, tagged as the one of the brightest hopes to win a medal, absorbed a heartbreaking 16-17 loss to Birzhan Zhakypov of Kazakhstan in the Round-of-16 of the men’s light flyweight class.

Filipino-American Daniel Caluag also failed to advance in the men’s BMX category of the cycling competitions. He finished dead last in Heat 3 with a total score of 29 points.

Trackster Rene Herrera was ranked 42nd in the men’s 5,000m with a new personal best of 14 minutes and 44.15 seconds while shooter Brian Rosario was at 31st position in the men’s skeet event with 110 points on 22-19-25-22-22 showing in the five-round qualifying stage.

Other Filipinos that saw action in the London Games were archers Rachelle Cabral (women’s individual) and Mark Javier (men’s individual) who both booted out in the knockout stage; judoka Tomohiko Hoshina, who lost to South Korean Kim Sung-min in the first round of the men’s 100+ kilograms; swimmers Jessie Khing Lacuna (36th in men’s 200m freestyle) and Jasmine Alkhaldi (34th in women’s 100m freestyle); and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz (women’s 58kg) who crashed out of competitions after missing three attempts in the clean and jerk.

Nonetheless, the Filipino athletes gained the much-needed experience especially the 19-year-old Barriga, who vowed to bounce back in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.