FEATURE
Seven Sporting Events that Make Us Proud
By Dennis U. Eroa
Inquirer Libre, Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:32:00 12/28/2008
Filed Under: Sport, People, Lifestyle & Leisure, Entertainment (general)
JUST as the country’s sporting scene seems headed for the pits, here come the blazing fists of Manny Pacquiao.
1. Pacquiao, the former bakery helper and construction workhorse whose rise to fame and fortune never fails to inspire, turned Oscar De La Hoya’s handsome mug into a punching bag en route to winning their Dream Match by an eighth-round technical knockout in glitzy Las Vegas.
That victory, played out before an overflowing crowd last December 6 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and watched by a record pay-per-view audience worldwide, was an early Christmas gift to Filipino sports fans whose sense of doom had never been deeper, following the catastrophic campaign of Team Philippines in the Beijing Olympics in August this year.
Though not an Olympian, Pacquiao was given the supreme honor of carrying the national colors during the opening parade as a fitting reward by a grateful President Macapagal-Arroyo, who named him her Special Envoy.
And rightly so. The GenSan southpaw had the hero-hungry nation roaring in delight as he wrested the World Boxing Council super featherweight crown from Juan Manuel Marquez last March 15, and then moving five pounds heavier to grab the lightweight title from David Diaz, whose fighting heart wasn’t enough to withstand the lethal combinations of the Filipino icon last June 28 at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino.
2. December, however, did not end with Pacquiao’s majestic triple. Army sergeant Harry Tañamor, who flopped during the Athens and the Beijing Olympics, made amends by winning the light-flyweight gold in the World Cup, which featured the world’s leading amateur boxers in Moscow, Russia. Tañamor pummeled Cuban favorite Yampier Hernandez, 15-7 in the final count, adding a gold to the World Championship silver he pocketed two years ago in Chicago, Illinois.
The feat was a vindication for the much-maligned leadership of outgoing Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president, Manny T. Lopez, who recently won as Philippine Olympic Committee’s first vice-president and will sit as ABAP vice-president next year. Triumphant December actually mirrored the start of 2008.
3. US LPGA regulars Dorothy Delasin and Jennifer Rosales pooled their talents to post a stirring triumph in the 4th Women’s World Cup of Golf at the Gary Player Country Club course in Sun City, South Africa.
Delasin, the 2000 LPGA Rookie of the Year, and Rosales split the $240,000 champions’ prize and, more importantly, put the country on top of the golfing world, long the domain of European, American and South Korean parbusters.
4. Like in golf, women’s volleyball remains alive and kicking. Thanks to the yeoman effort of the brains behind the Shakey’s V-League, women’s volleyball drew record crowds at The Arena in San Juan. The league’s fifth season opened last March 30 with Adamson and San Sebastian joining the winners circle.
5. Chess wizard and Grandmaster Wesley So topped the prestigious Dubai Open last April before proceeding to outwit Indon GM Susanto Megaranto 4-2 in a six-game match during the JAPFA Chess Festival.
6. July was the most-awaited month for basketball-crazy fans with the opening of the 71st UAAP. Earlier, the NCAA opened its 84th season with San Beda Red Lions installed as odds-on favorites.
Ateneo under Norman Black mastered arch-rival La Salle for the prestigious men’s basketball title last September, while San Beda bagged the three-peat against stubborn Jose Rizal University, whose last title came in 1972.
Beaten four times by the Blue Eagles, the Archers gained some dignity when they walloped the Katipunan-based dribblers in the Champions League finals early December.
7. Before the rise of the Blue Eagles, UAAP basketball plunged into turmoil following the shooting of FEU player Marnel ”Mac” Baracael last July 24. The assailants remain at large, leaving a cloud of doubt as to the real motives behind the slay attempt.
Like in the past, brickbats were thrown from left to right among the leaders of various national sports associations like chess, billiards, swimming, boxing, judo, gymnastics, archery, basketball, wushu and many others, contributing to the decline of an already pathetic RP sports.
Battle-scarred Jose ”Peping” Cojuangco won a new four-year term as Philippine Olympic Committee president, while Monico Puentevella bested Robert Aventajado as chairman in closely-fought elections last November 28.
William ”Butch” Ramirez, who rose from the ranks and is a father figure to national athletes, continues to head the Philippine Sports Commission which is tasked to provide funding for athletes as they prepare to end the search for the elusive gold in London 2012.
Telecommunications magnate Manuel V. Pangilinan remains the most active benefactor of Philippine sports, Harbour Centre dominates the Philippine Basketball League, Barangay Ginebra remains tops in drawing the crowds, Dumaguete’s best in baseball, mixed martial arts slowly creeps into the consciousness of Pinoy sports fans, and wushu artist Willy Wang actually won the Olympic ”gold” by topping the combined events of men’s nanquan and nangun (bare fists) events at the Olympic Sports Center.
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