GUANGZHOU – From the quaint billiards halls and noisy arenas of combat sports, from the bowling lanes and dance halls to the hilly fairways by the banks of a beautiful lake, two teams and 13 individuals played hard, played well and played to win.
Gold medalists Biboy Rivera, Dennis Orcollo and Rey Saludar are the new Filipino heroes of the Asian Games and by year’s end they will be among the few history will honor in its elite circle of Filipino champions.
Each has his own story of blood, sweat and many a tear.
Rivera, announcing beforehand his retirement after 13 years in the sport, won his very first, and probably last Asian Games gold in the singles event in bowling.
But that gold could be the last as the sport has been deleted from the Asiad starting in 2014, making him the first and last bowling gold medalist from the Philippines.
The cue artists, whose presence commands respect and instills awe and fear in money tournaments, were not comfortable with the knockout rules and format of amateur play.
Efren “Bata” Reyes, in the twilight of a long career, vanished like magic in the first round in 8-Ball singles, the third time he failed since 1991, hinting at the changing of the guard.
Billiards great names also took early exits – Roberto Gomez in 8-Ball, Rubilen Amit and Iris Villanueva in 8-Ball and 9-Ball – but it was a matter of pride that one must win.
With the egging of their coach Django Bustamante, Warren Kiamco and Orcollo threw off the great pretenders one by one in their specialty – the 9-Ball – the last event in billiards.
Orcollo rallied from 4-7 to beat a Vietnamese in the quarterfinal, and Kiamco had to fight a Taiwanese to the last rack to win, 9-7, in the other half, to secure the first all-Filipino contest in the discipline.
Orcollo took the gold in a rare 1-2 finish by a single country in the quadrennial meet.
At the Foshan Lingnan Mingzhu boxing gym, one exited in the first round, two in the quarterfinals, and one in the semifinals, leaving two with the chance to win the gold.
But their opponents were Chinese who were fighting to give the host country two gold medals to move within five of matching the 183-gold medal haul in Beijing 20 years ago.
Annie Albania gave way to the tough Chinese and the three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, in between sobs, hinted at an early retirement because of an impaired vision caused by the punishments on the ring.
Saludar, brave and determined, fought the Chinese blow by blow, winning here and losing there, until he built a cushion, 10-3, big enough to last the distance and secure the win.
Their saga, too, had its silver linings.
At the Dragon Boat Lake, the nearby golf course, surrounded by misty mountains and a crystal clear lake, is actually a monster.
Young Miguel Tabuena, guided in his career by ICTSI, led the charge in the first round with a 68, kept a one-stroke lead with the same score in the second, lost the lead in the third and was in danger of also losing the silver to a fellow teenager from Thailand and Chinese Taipei.
He conceded the gold but held his own to win the silver in a battle among young golfers aged 16 to 18, prompting the National Golf Association of the
Philippines to focus on junior golf training for the Asiad and the Southeast Asian Games.
At the hallowed halls of the Guangzhou Chess Institute, the country’s top grandmasters led by Eugene Torre, champion of the past, and Wesley So, world champion of the future, crushed second seed India twice with the score of 2.5-1.5 but in the final reckoning they could not do the same to the Great Wall of China.
Willie Abalos and his chessers were humble in defeat and Torre, in his final years in the mental game, said “this silver is a medal I’m proud to bring to my country.”
While the Philippine contingent remained eerily quiet with sobs here and there from vanquished Filipino warriors, two lovers from down south danced to the lively steps of cha-cha-cha and paso doble to win twin bronze medals in dancesport.
The taekwondo jins, who have once carried their skills to the Olympics, were determined as ever to win the gold. Five went as far as the semifinal round but they fought opposite the Chinese, Japanese, the Iranians who are veterans of actual war, and the Koreans who invented the game.
Only eight of 28 sports or 18 of 188 athletes made the elite circle of winners, accounting for 3-4-9 gold-silver-bronze medals after 14 full-packed days of action in the XVI Asian Games.
It was a fine achievement by a brave bunch of Filipinos, who were champions in their sport and champions in spirit.
Asiad Honor roll
Gold
1. Dennis Orcollo (Men’s 9-Ball Singles, Billiards)
2. Biboy Rivera (Men’s Singles, Bowling)
3. Rey Saludar (Men’s 52 kg, Boxing)
Silver
1. Warren Kiamco (Men’s 9-Ball Singles, Billiards)
2. Annie Albania (Women’s 48-51 kg, Boxing)
3. Wesley So, Joey Antonio, John Paul Gomez,
Darwin Laylo, Eugene Torrre (Men’s Team, Chess)
4. Miguel Tabuena (Men’’s Individual, Golf)
Bronze
1. Frederick Ong (Men’s Singles, Bowling)
2. Victorio Saludar (Men’s 46-49 kg, Boxing)
3. Charlea Lagaras,Ronnie Vergara
(Latin Cha-Cha-Cha, Dancesport)
4. Charlea Lagaras, Ronnie Vergara
(Latin Paso Doble, Dancesport)
5. John Paul Lizardo (Men’s Under 54 kg, Taekwondo)
6. Paul Romero (Men’s Under 58 kg, Taekwondo)
7. Tshomlee Go (Men’s Under 63 kg, Taekwondo)
8. Kristie Elaine Alora
(Women’s Under 73 kg, Taekwondo)
9. Mark Eddiva (Men’s Sanshou, 65 kg, Wushu)