‘Pagpupugay’ fetes Filipino greats

MANILA, Philippines - To most, the names of Teofilo Yldefonso, Paulino Alcantara, and the great sports heroes of yesteryears hardly ring a bell but a new movement called “Pagpupugay” hopes to make them part of Filipino consciousness by celebrating their feats.

A brainchild of former PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad and Taas Noo, Inc., “Pagpupugay” aims to pay tribute to the great Filipino athlete over the last 100 years and inspire the current generation.

“Pagpupugay” was launched fittingly on “Araw ng Kagitingan” at Resorts World Manila with legends Efren “Bata” Reyes, Bong Coo, GM Eugene Torre and Alvin Patrimonio in attendance.

“May DNA tayo ng greatness, sila ang pruweba dyan. Hindi nawawala yan through the years. Kailangan lang natin alalahanin, hanapin sa ating mga puso (We have a DNA for greatness and these great athletes are a testament to this. We just need to keep on remembering),” said Trinidad.

To start the ball rolling, “Pagpupugay” has set two major activities this year – “Hanay ng Kagitingan” (100 Years of Phl Sports Exhibit) on June 1-15 and “Gabi ng Parangal” (Tribute to 100 Years of Phl Sports) on Independence Day.

The exhibit will feature memorabilia from the Filipino sports greats, including the actual bronze medal that swimmer Yldefonso won at the 1928 Amsterdam Games, on loan from the Philippine Sports Commission’s Museum.

“Pagpupugay” seeks to make the feats of pre-TV and pre-Facebook greats like Yldefonso and Alcantara known to as many.

Yldefonso was the first Filipino to win a medal in the Olympics, bagging back-to-back bronzes in 1928 and 1932. He later served as a Philippine Scout and died in a POW camp in 1942.

Nicknamed the “Net-breaker,” Fil-Spanish Alcantara was FC Barcelona’s record holder for highest goals scored (369 goals in 357 games) before it was broken by Leo Messi recently.

“Iyung mga heroes tulad nila should never be forgotten. Kailangan binabalik-balikan ang galing nila, sine-celebrate ang greatness nila para ma-inspire ang kabataan ngayon, para maitaas ang pananampalataya sa mga Filipino (Our sports heroes should never be forgotten; we should always celebrate their greatness so it will serve as inspiration to the youth),” said Trinidad.

Beyond remembering greats, the group also looks to come up with a program to provide support to the cash-strapped athletes like Olympic boxing medalist Anthony Villanueva and campaigners in the Paragames and Special Olympics.