Peping lauds Pinoys courage, exploits

DOHA — Saying it’s not the medal but the performance that counts in the end, Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose "Peping" Cojuangco on Wednesday lauded the Filipino athletes for their exploits in the Asian Games which draws to a close Friday at the Khalifa Stadium here.

Cojuangco said he’s proud of the 229 Filipino athletes who competed in 31 sports in the last 14 days, four of whom came away with gold medals, six captured silvers and nine took home bronzes.

"It’s not how many medals they’ve won but how they performed out there," said Cojuangco. "I’m happy because all the Filipino athletes contended in their respective fields."

What’s impressive about the RP bets, according to Cojuangco, is that they didn’t only go out in the field to fight for personal glory but for the honor of the country.

"Hindi lang sila basta kasali. Lahat gusto lumaban at ginawa nila lahat ang makakaya nila. Hindi lang para sa kanilang sarili kundi para sa bansa (They were not mere competitors but they fought and gave their best. Not for personal glory but for the country)," said Cojuango.

Halfway through the final day of action, the Philippines slipped to No. 19 in the medal tally with a 3-5-9 (gold-silver-bronze) medal haul after reaching No. 17 following Joan Tipon’s victory in the bantamweight division in boxing Wednesday.

The other gold medalists are flyweight Violito Payla, also in boxing, and pool artist Antonio Gabica who won the 9-ball singles gold in cue sports.

Rene Catalan and Eduard Folayang made it a 4-6-9 haul for Team RP after winning a gold and a silver, respectively, at the close of the wushu competition. Catalan topped the -52kg and Folayan finished runner-up in -70kg division.

Cojuangco said discipline was key to the athletes’ remarkable performance, citing the boxers’ feat.

"Talagang kailangan disiplina. Look at the boxers, they trained hard and very disciplined," said Cojuangco. "It’s actually the basic principle to achieve one’s goal."

In a talk with the boxers, the POC chief promised to help them in the best way he can even as he called on the private sector to support the Filipino athletes who he said "have been sacrificing a lot to bring honor to the country."

Meanwhile, Philippine Sports Commission chair Butch Ramirez said First Gentleman Mike Arroyo has promised to help RP sports again after shying away from the sports scene following a series of political intrigues.

"Because of the remarkable performance of our athletes, he said he will come back to help and keep supporting RP sports," said Ramirez.

Mr. Arroyo, through the First Gentleman Foundation, used to be in the forefront of RP sports, drawing the support of the private sector in the Busan Asian Games in 2002 and the Manila SEA Games last year. — Dante Navarro