By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

 

THE 15-day Asian Games in Hangzhou, China (September 23 – October 8) finally ended.

As expected, the host and defending champion China emerged as the best country in the orient when it comes to sports, securing an impressive 201 gold, 111 silver, and 71 bronze medals, for a total of 383 medals, surpassing its 2018 edition accomplishments, which totaled 292 in Indonesia.

Japan, landed a distant second with 52 gold, 67 silver, and 69 bronzes, while South Korea took the third spot with 42 gold, 59 silver, and 89 bronze medals.

The Philippines collected 4 gold, 2 silver, and 12 bronze medals, earning the 17th place overall out of 45 participating countries, or two ranks higher (19th) compared to our performance in the 2018 Asian Games. Sports fans were astounded by our national basketball team’s performance on their unexpected gold medal victory.

I was mistaken when I initially thought our Philippine basketball team had a slim chance of winning the gold, since the team was assembled by veteran coach Tim Cone just 15 days prior to the competition. Under Cone’s guidance, the team achieved a heart-pounding victory over three-time Asian Cup champion Iran, 84-83, to reach the semifinals. They went on to defeat defending champion China, 77-76.

We watched in awe as our national team orchestrated another thrilling win over host China, similar to what happened against Iran, earning them a place in the gold medal match against Jordan. In their first encounter, Jordan dominated our Gilas Pilipinas, 87-62. However, the second meeting with Jordan was a different story, as our nationals never allowed their rivals to take the lead after the first quarter and held their pace until the final buzzer, to win 70-60.

Unknown to many, especially the younger generation, our national basketball team already clinched four Asian Games gold medals led by Carlos Loyzaga. These victories occurred in 1951 in New Delhi, 1954 in Manila, 1958 in Tokyo, and 1962 in Jakarta. Loyzaga also led our national team to gold in the Asian Basketball Confederation Championship twice, in 1960 held in Manila and in 1963 in Taipei.

Additionally, Loyzaga captained our national team in the 1954 FIBA World Championship held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, securing a bronze medal – our first and last so far. In fact, despite his passing, he remains the first and only Filipino inducted into the prestigious FIBA Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed before the opening of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila.

Born in Intramuros, Manila on August 29, 1930, Loyzaga, of Australian-Filipino descent, passed away on January 27, 2016, at the age of 85, due to a stroke.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”  MATTHEW 24: 7-8

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