THERE ARE three B’s that are ingrained in the fabric of Filipino culture – basketball, boxing, and beauty pageants. These are the three events when the streets, government and private offices, and even public markets and transport terminals are surprisingly quiet as Filipinos remain glued to their TV sets watching with bated breath, and amidst loud cheers and boisterous laughter, pray earnestly for a victorious result.
Two of these three B’s are in the field of sports, an indication of our relentless passion to make a mark in the world sports arena, particularly in basketball. Quite understandably, there is this seemingly unquenchable thirst to make our mark in basketball, whether it is in the biennial Southeast Asian Games, the Jones Cup, the FIBA World Cup, and yes, even in the Olympic Games. I remember how many Filipino basketball fans were so shocked when Gilas Pilipinas failed to clinch a 14th straight SEA Games gold, and settled for a silver finish in Hanoi in 2022. Then in 2023, the entire nation burst in jubilation when Gilas recaptured the gold at the expense of host Cambodia.
Well, I really have no problem that the Philippines has become a basketball-crazy nation. I just find it a little odd that both our sadness in 2022, and our joy in 2023 in the SEA Games have eclipsed the impressive gold performance of the other members of the Philippine contingent. Just last August 5, our country pocketed the 2023 Junior League Softball World Series title in Kirkland, Washington. Represented by the softbelles from Bago City, Negros Occidental, the country captured its second championship in the girls’ 12-14 age bracket. Except for a three-minute spot on national TV, a minor spread on the sports page of leading newspapers and few posts on social media, the celebration and appreciation of their accomplishment is nothing compared to how we glorify every single win of Gilas Pilipinas even during the elimination round.
Since our initial participation in the 1924 Summer Games, the country has won 1 gold, 5 silver, and 8 bronze, for a total of 14 Olympic medals. Of these 14, we won 1 gold in weightlifting, 4 silver, and 4 bronze in boxing, 2 bronze in athletics and 2 in swimming. As for basketball, I would like to believe that our greatest moment on the world court happened 69 years ago when the late Caloy Loyzaga steered the country to a bronze medal in the 1954 FIBA World Championship in Brazil. This has been our best finish and so far, the highest placement by any Asian country. Dubbed “The Big Difference,” Loyzaga is associated with the golden age of Philippine basketball in the 1950s, having led the Philippine basketball team to four gold medals in the Asian Games and two gold medals in the Asian Basketball Confederation Championship, which is now the FIBA Asia Cup.
Over the years we have seen the emergence of Filipino athletes in the world sports arena – weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, gymnast Carlos Yulo, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, and boxers Eumir Marcial, Irish Magno, Neshty Petecio, and Carlo Paalam. Despite the limited support from the government and private donors and the endless bickering and politicking among our sports officials, these are the same athletes that remain our biggest hopes to sustain our wins in the 2022 Tokyo Olympics.
Again, I do not ask that we refrain from supporting our basketball teams or stop chasing our dreams for a FIBA or Olympic basketball gold medal. I just hope that we also learn to set our sights on other sports disciplines where we enjoy the comparative advantage, instead of focusing all our energies and depleting our sports budget on just one or two. These athletes, unheralded and unappreciated as they are, continue to make do with the limited budget, dismal training facilities and oftentimes outdated sports program that our country provides. Yet, they continue to shine on the global sports stage, raising the Philippine flag and inspiring new athletes to continue their legacy. It’s high time that we also prioritize and finance unpopular but medal-rich sports. Setting our priorities right does not necessarily mean abandoning one in favor of the others; it only means giving the other sports disciplines the same attention that they richly deserve.
