It’s that time of year, when we go back over the past 12 months for the greatest (and most ignoble) moments of the fading calendar. Sports never ends, and as things are almost back to normal, it was a rich year in sports, indeed.
The biggest headliners of the year were undoubtedly Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo and EJ Obiena. Obiena had to overcome a distasteful political situation in his home national sports association, the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association. The world’s third-best pole vaulter got caught in a stalemate over alleged misuse of funds, before eventually being cleared of any wrongdoing. If his trajectory continues and he starts consistently clearing six meters, the sky’s figuratively the limit. For Diaz-Naranjo, her spectacular three-gold performance at the International Weightlifting Federation World Championships affirmed her status as one of the greatest lifters of all time. But it was bittersweet because her weight class will no longer be included in the 2024 Olympics, and she has declared that she will jump to the 59-kilogram class. Other athletes who broke through this year were multiple world pool champion Rubilen Amit, who quickly overcame disappointment in her individual competition to turn around and help win a team world championship. Alex Eala also broke new ground, and will be in next year’s Australian Open qualifiers, a first for Philippine tennis.
There were many other sterling moments of achievement. The national women’s football team has seen solid growth and has surprised even long-time fans. Roughly a dozen Filipino youngsters have found steady work playing basketball in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Lithuania. Chloe Isleta continued to reset Philippine records in swimming. Sofia Frank has brought much hope to figure skating. The UAAP men’s basketball finals showed how gentlemanly even the toughest competition can be. Meanwhile, the Philippine men’s tchoukball team qualified for the first world championship outside of Asia, and has a clear chance to medal.
Of course, it was not all roses, es expected. By the middle of the year, the country had no world boxing champions in the WBC, WBA, WBO or IBF, an unusual confluence of circumstances. But soon as January comes, that will hopefully be rectified. Also, John Amores’ escalation of on-court violence tainted a great NCAA men’s basketball season. We hope his new lease in the sport helps him find reform, repentance and redemption. Mixed martial arts also needs to produce more wins at the professional level, We also hope that the Games and Amusements Board and Philippine Sports Commission hierarchies are finally filled up. Many sports legends are backing former PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad for chairmanship of the GAB, and we concur.
We must also give kudos to the Pilipinas Obstacle Sports Federation for continually scaling new heights and developing the sport. Guinness world records and a solid grassroots program are proof that they are doing everything right so far. Sepak takraw is also spreading slowly and surely all over the country, under the indefatigable and relentless leadership of Karen Caballero. Of course, chess and e-sports continue to build on the momentum from the pandemic.
2023 will be an even bigger year, as we will explore in coming column.