ROLLERCOASTER RIDE

The year that passed will go down to history as one of the most memorable in Philippine sports.

It was such a rollercoaster season as historic victories, heartbreaking setbacks, non-stop bickering, and deaths of sports icons made the previous year truly memorable.

It was the year when pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena and Alex Eala soared to prominence while the national women’s football team, collectively known as the Filipinas, captured a historic triumph in the world’s biggest football stage.

Not to be outdone, Gilas Pilipinas also made its presence felt as it captured back-to-back titles highlighted by the Filipinos’ first hosting of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 45 years.

Of course, who would forget Justin Brownlee — the do-it-all naturalized player of Gilas Pilipinas who turned from hero to goat after testing positive for banned substance in the aftermath of the Filipinos’ historic conquest of the Asian Games gold medal.

And just when the year was about to shut down, a beloved basketball legend in Avelino “Samboy” Lim heard the final buzzer, a sorry development that came few days before Marlon Tapales failed to pull an earth-shaking upset of Japanese powerhouse Naoya Inoue in their super-bantamweight title clash at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

Truly, the previous year is one of a kind.

As we turn over a new leaf, let us take a stroll down the memory lane and look back at the highest mountains and lowest valleys that Filipino athletes in the year that passed.

 

Obiena enjoys banner year

The year 2023 was truly Obiena’s year.

The 28-year-old pole vaulter from Tondo, Manila started the year with a bang as he plucked three gold medals in the Perche en Or in Roubaix, France in late January before beating a powerhouse cast of competitors that included Sam Kendricks of the United States and Piotr Lisek of Poland in the Orlen Cup in Lodz, Poland.

A week later, he took a two-hour drive to the Polish town of Torun to rule the Orlen Copernicus Cup and run away with his third gold medal.

But his biggest wins happened in Asia.

Obiena reigned supreme in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in record-breaking fashion before clinching the gold medal in the 19th Asian Games — also in record fashion.

He was also able to join the elite six-meter club when he cleared 6.0 in the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway, making him the first and only Asian to accomplish the feat.

Now, Obiena, the second-best vaulter in the world, is gearing up for his second Olympic stint in Paris and hopes are high that he will be able to surpass world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden.

With 10 months to prepare, the possibilities are endless.

 

Filipinas make ‘Herstory’

For a basketball-loving country, winning in the FIFA World Cup seems impossible.

But the national women’s football team debunked that idea as it pulled off a historic victory over New Zealand in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Composed of the brightest talents from all over the world, the Filipinas trained for a year in Europe and the United States, giving them the momentum to stand tall against the best football players in the world.

Sarina Bolden, a Los Angeles-born striker, delivered a goal in the 23rd minute before goal keeper Olivia McDaniel made some timely saves in the crucial stretch to help the Filipinas preserve a historic 1-0 victory.

Although the Filipinas failed to sustain their momentum and bombed out of the group stages with a 1-0-2 win-draw-loss, there is no denying that fact that the campaign was successful and the Philippines has what it takes to compete against powerhouse foes.

Australian head coach Alen Stajcic, however, left to join the Perth Glory FC, but the Philippine Football Federation reacted quickly, appointing another Australian mentor in Mark Torcaso to call the shots in the 19th Asian Games.

The switch yielded a positive result as Torcaso led the Filipinas to a quarterfinal appearance in the Asian Games, which is their first time in 65 years.

Truly, the Filipinas are world-class.

And there’s definitely more to come as they enter the new year with an intact roster and coaching staff.

 

World Cup rocks Manila

But the biggest World Cup story didn’t happen on foreign soil.

It happened right into the hearts of the Filipinos — Manila.

Seven years after winning the bidding, the best and brightest basketball stars from 31 countries descended in Manila to vie for pride and glory.

The opening salvo between the home team, Gilas Pilipinas, and Dominican Republic was held at the cavernous Mall of Asia Arena with more than 38,000 spectators in attendance.

Gilas Pilipinas was bannered by National Basketball Association star Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz while the Dominicans were powered by Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Also present in the staging of the prestigious event were other superstars like Luka Doncic of Slovenia, Donovan Mitchell and Austin Reeves of the United States, Dennis Schroder of Germany, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Canada.

Eventually, cage legends Pau Gasol of Spain, Dirk Nowitzki of Germany and Carmelo Anthony of the US arrived to add glitter to the biggest and most prestigious basketball event in the world outside the Olympics.

The Filipinos ended the group stages without a single win, relegating them to the classification phase. They lost to South Sudan and Angola, before pulling off a 96-75 win over China, their first ever win in the World Cup since beating Senegal when the tourney was held in Spain in 2014.

In the end, the well-prepared Germans emerged victorious, beating powerhouse Serbia, 83-77, in the gold medal match to clinch their first World Cup crown.

Schroder, who was named as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, said he couldn’t forget the warm reception and friendly smiles given to them by the Filipinos.

It was truly an unforgettable experience.

 

Gilas post historic win

The setback in the World Cup, however, didn’t stop the Filipinos from making history.

Despite the departure of practically the entire team in Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, Rhenz Abando and Kiefer Ravena as well as the resignation of Chot Reyes, Gilas Pilipinas still refused to give up until it clinched the gold medal in the 19th Asian Games.

Without its key players and head coach, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas sought the support of the Philippine Basketball Association to form a team.

The pro league responded and made all players available, including multi-titled coach Tim Cone, who served as assistant coach of Chot Reyes in the World Cup squad.

Cone, the last mentor to lead the Filipinos to the Asian Games podium in Bangkok in 1998, faced early challenge as late additions Kevin Alas, Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez had a hard time securing their accreditation cards from the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee.

Still, Gilas refused to give up.

They won all but one game in the group stage to set up a quarterfinal encounter with Iran.

After Gilas took control of the first three quarters, the Iranians waged a massive rally, threatening to pull off a come-from-behind win that will surely break the hearts of the Filipinos.

Brownlee took charge in the crucial stretch, leading the Filipinos to an 84-83 win to march into the semifinals for the first time in 21 years.

But the semis will not be a cakewalk. Awaiting Gilas will be China and the massive home crowd packing the Hangzhou Olympic Centre to the rafters.

China buckled down to work early as it led by as many as 20 points in the second quarter, 46-26.

Again, the Filipinos refused to give up.

They hounded and pounded the great Chinese wall in the entire second half until getting close to just within five points in the final minute.

From there, Brownlee took over, dropping back-to-back three-pointers in the final 23 seconds to shut down the massive crowd with a victory of a lifetime.

The victory sent the Filipinos to the gold medal match while slaying the ghost of the 1990 Asiad in Beijing in which the Chinese reduced them into a huge mass of tears.

Gilas completed its date with history in the gold medal match as they waged a revenge on Jordan, 70-60, to capture their first title in 61 years.

 

Brownlee tests positive

The sweet scent of champagne caused by their Asian Games victory has yet to die down when the Filipinos received the bad news: Brownlee tested positive for using banned substance.

Brownlee, whose hard work and do-it-all mentality swept Filipino fans off their feet, failed an anti-doping test conducted by the International Testing Agency after being found positive of Carboxy-THC, a substance linked to marijuana.

While Gilas still retained the medal, the result put a massive asterisk on the faces of the Filipinos as it questioned the legality — and validity — of their historic win.

The International Basketball Federation has yet to release a sanction on Brownlee but his mother team in the PBA, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, already decided to bar him from seeing action for the Commissioner’s Cup.

 

Hidilyn falls flat

Tokyo Olympics champion Hidilyn Diaz missed the podium of the women’s 59-kilogram event of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China after getting fourth place.

Diaz, one of the country’s hopes to land on the podium, failed to replicate her gold medal run in the 2018 Asiad in Jakarta when she ruled the 53-kg event.

Diaz, however, remained satisfied, saying that she is still testing her strength in the higher weight category. After all, the real battle is in the Paris Olympics — not the Asian Games.

 

POC, PSC divided over fund mess

Before the country’s participation in the Asian Games came to a close, the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee bickered over the liquidation of a financial support that was approved 25 years ago.

POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino cried foul over the Commission on Audit’s memorandum, asking them to liquidate the P10-million cash advance that they used in the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998.

Worse, the demand letter was given a day before the opening ceremony of the Asian Games, prompting Tolentino to speculate that it might be politically motivated with the goal of distracting them from leading the Filipinos to an impressive finish.

PSC chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann, however, refused to recognize Tolentino’s rant, saying that he has nothing to do with the CoA memorandum. Instead, he will help the POC get cleared through an audit conference.

 

‘Skywalker’ bids goodbye

It was a dark day for Philippine basketball as former superstar Samboy Lim passed away two days before Christmas.

He was 61 years old.

Fondly known as “The Skywalker” for high-flying moves, Lim won nine PBA titles, including a Grand Slam in 1989, for the San Miguel Beer.

He was also one of the PBA’s 25 and 40 Greatest Players.