The Philippines’ 19th Asian Games stint – a failure?
By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.
AS I write this piece on Thursday, just three days before the conclusion of the 19th Asian Games hosted by Hangzhou, China, it appears that our national athletes are poised to fall short of surpassing or matching our achievements in the 18th edition of the Asian Games held in Indonesia in 2018.
As expected, defending champion China is once again emerging as the dominant force, amassing a remarkable 171 gold medals, 94 silvers, and 51 bronzes, resulting in a grand total of 316 medals, surpassing their 292-medal haul in Indonesia, as of October 5. Like in the 2018 edition, Japan trails far behind with only 37 gold, 51 silvers, and 59 bronze medals, while South Korea occupies the third position with 33 gold, 45 silver, and 59 bronzes. In contrast, our national athletes secured only one gold, one silver, and nine bronze medals, totaling eleven medals, placing us disappointingly in the 24th position overall.
Hopefully, our country will manage to secure more medals and climb to the top 20, like we did in 2018, when we landed in the 19th place overall. Regrettably, some of our seasoned Olympic and Asian championship veterans, who we had high expectations, did not perform up to par this time, with one disappointment following another. Notably, the first among our hopefuls to miss out on a medal was boxer Nesthy Petecio, the silver medalist in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. She was later followed by Hidilyn Diaz, our lone gold medalist in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, who finished fourth in her category. (Diaz made history in the Philippines by winning our first and only gold medal since we started participating in the Olympic Games in 1924). Another highly rated boxer, Carlo Paalam, who also won a silver medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, followed suit.
Our teenage tennis sensation, 18-year-old Alex Eala, was the fourth to exit the competition. Fortunately, our Asian pole vault record holder, Ernest Obiena, who was top-seeded in the event, lived up to expectations and secured the elusive gold, our very first in the current competition. Wushu artist Arnel Mandal contributed a silver medal with nine bronzes, the Philippines harvested a total of eleven medals (1-1-9), which still falls short of the Philippine Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino’s prediction for our delegation. In the 2018 Indonesia Asian Games, we won four gold, two silver, and 15 bronze medals.
Meanwhile, our professional basketball squad, “Gilas Pilipinas 5,” staged two remarkable come-from-behind victories last Monday and Wednesday. In the first game, Gilas Pilipinas 5, despite leading by as much as 21 points in the third quarter against Iran, found themselves on the brink of defeat in the final quarter, with Iran mounting a stunning rally to take a one-point lead, 83-82, with just 62 seconds left on the clock. Fortunately, the versatile 6’4″ Filipino naturalized player, Justin Brownlee, converted a crucial two-point perimeter shot with only 44 seconds remaining to secure the precious 84-83 lead. Iran’s forward, Matin (his last name eludes me), attempted a three-point shot in response but, fortunately, missed the potential game-winning shot, resulting in a nail-biting victory for the Philippines, much to the delight of the Filipino fans in attendance.
The Philippines vs. China showdown produced a similarly thrilling one-point victory, with the final score of 77-76 in favor of the Philippines. However, this time, the narrative was very different. China had led by as many as 20 points, 52-32, in the third quarter but later went cold, enabling the Philippines to claw its way back into the game. Brownlee played a dominant role, firing multiple three-point and perimeter shots against the host, ultimately securing the breathtaking 77-76 triumph and a coveted spot in the gold medal battle. Indeed, “never say die,” as the saying goes. I wholeheartedly agree.
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