General Admission
Disaster of monstrous proportions
By Al S. Mendoza
WE were one among 45 nations that vied for 499 gold medals in the just-ended Incheon Asian Games in South Korea.
We had 150 athletes entered in 27 disciplines, with basketball being the most important of all, of course.
But we lost in basketball – and very badly at that. But that’s going ahead of the story.
Richie Garcia, our chef de mission in Incheon, faltered in his prediction of a 7 gold-medal win.
Why he made that forecast, fearless as it was, was mind-boggling to say the least.
He had no solid basis, relying mainly on instinct.
Not a good trait of a true leader.
We had three gold medals in the last 2010 Asiad in Guangzhou, China – one each in boxing, billiards and bowling.
That was one less gold to our four gold medals in the 2006 Doha (Qatar) Asiad.
Billiards was scrapped in Incheon and that was one less gold for us this year.
As I write this, just hours before deadline, we only had one gold medal to show coming from BMX rider Fil-Am Daniel Caluag.
Charly Suarez, earning a scary 2-1 win in the lightweight semifinals, was set to face Mongolia’s Otgondalai Dorjnyambuu for PHL boxing’s first gold.
I prayed and had hoped Suarez, 26, won to at least soften the impact of the quarterfinal debacles suffered through horrible hometown decisions by our light-flyweight Mark Anthony Barriga, bantamweight Mario Fernandez and middleweight Wilfredo Lopez.
I watched the fights in earnest and Barriga, Fernandez and Lopez were clearly robbed of victory.
For our three boxers to have advanced to the battle for gold, they should have knocked out their foes.
But that is easier said than done.
Rarely do we see knockouts happening in amateur boxing for the simple reason that almost every bet here is raw and unpolished.
In amateur boxing, it is all virtually fight, fight, and more fight – and calculated punching is easily drowned out by brawling, if not virtual flailing.
But the biggest issue in boxing is still the scoring.
Sadly, the Koreans are known as the world’s No. 1 practitioners of hometown decisions.
Barriga had clearly outfought his Korean opponent but still absorbed a 0-3 loss in the quarterfinals.
I commend Barriga and the rest of his fellow boxers for bravery.
Alas, I cannot say the same to coach Chot Reyes, who traitorously threw away our game to South Korea by benching Marcus Douthit.
You freeze your 6’11” giant in the most important game in the Asiad, what was that all about?
Disaster of monstrous proportions.
This was international play, the gold-medal game in itself, and you “discipline” your No. 1 center for his perceived “sloppy play” the night before?
We ended up beyond No. 5 in basketball, our worst ever.
No, not our players’ fault.
Yes, Reyes needs some psychological test.
If he hurdles it, it is rigged – as in the officiating in boxing.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
