I’M leaving my laptop open so Santa can see. I have quite a few wishes that I have in my list and I really do wish they’ll come true—some day, if not soon. And they’re all about sports.
The recent 30th Southeast Asian Games was both an eye-opener and an inspiration that dreams do come true, even if they’ve been badly shattered before. Our fine showing certainly encourages us to look forward to more gains and breakthroughs for our athletes, as well as Philippine sports in general. It also proved that winning as one is not just a slogan, it’s a real battle cry that we can use well beyond the SEA Games and its afterglow.
So here’s my wish list for Christmas 2019. And I hope Santa stuffs my stockings with these goodies, most of them derived from the lessons and realizations that the SEA Games brought.
1. Unity for women’s volleyball. There are two commercial leagues for Women’s Volleyball—the Philippine Super Liga and the Premier Volleyball League. Which means talent abounds in women’s volleyball. Yet, the women’s national volleyball team failed to podium in the 2019 SEAG. There are calls—from the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. Chairman Peter Cayco himself—for the two leagues to find common ground, cast their differences aside and work for the common good which is the improvement of the women’s national team program. We so agree.
2. A pro league for women’s basketball. Our women’s national basketball team is, in a word, wow. Composed of a mostly National University core that has gone undefeated for 96 games, the women put on a show and asserted dominance in the region with their SEA Games performance. But sadly, after college, women ballers have nowhere to go. I share Gilas Pilipinas Coach Patrick Aquino’s wish for a female professional league where our talented and motivated Pinay players can showcase their talent and inspire/empower more women to play the game.
3. A men’s volleyball pro league. The Philippine Men’s Volleyball Team wowed the nation and showed everyone that not all the attention or support should go to the volleybelles. The men need not go abroad to play as imports in foreign teams, we can build them their stage right here. My wish is for our volleyball knights like Marck Jesus Espejo and Bryan Bagunas to keep wowing us with a league of their own on shore. Santa, prioritize this wish, please.
4. Equal if not greater success for our para-athletes in the 10th ASEAN Para Games. It’s our para-athletes’ turn to shine in the same sports venues this January. When they joined the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, our para-athletes took home 10 gold, eight silver medals and 11 bronze medals to place the Philippines on the 11th spot overall from among 43 countries. That was a big jump from their previous 21st placement. Now that the games are going to be held in Manila, we hope that our para athletes—who compete against all odds—get the same support and enthusiasm from us sports fans. Their only wish is to make our country proud.
5. Resurgence in bowling and billiards.Bowling and billiards were two of the B’s that made us dominant in the three B’s: Bowling, Billards and Boxing. In SEA Games and Asian Games past, billards and bowling put us right there on the shiny medal tally. But, this time around, we did not dominate in bowling (Senate Speaker Tito Sotto, a former national bowling team member) said our bowlers need to train more and bowling centers should be made more affordable so more can play the game. We won gold and silver in billiards, courtesy of Rubilen Amit and Chezka Centeno, but I guess we wanted more. Hoping that Santa find ways to make us reclaim these strong suits again soon.
6. More success for our young Azkals and Malditas. Our young Azkals failed to make it to the semis in the SEA Games. The Malditas lost a heartbreaking semis game to Vietnam and failed to achieve a podium finish. They were just breaks of the game. Both squads are tough, talented and all out to win. Azkals Coach Goran Milojevic said this is one of the best rosters to play for the country on the pitch, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of. They’ll be back better and luckier. Same with the Malditas.
7. Less politics, more unity and national pride in sports. Undoubtedly sports is a unifying force and a source of national pride. In the last SEA Games, politics, skepticism and a natural penchant for bickering preceded the opening of the Games and nearly distracted us from what was important. Politics has also gotten in the way of giving the athletes what was due them in the past, with politicians getting both the resources and the importance in previous campaigns. This time around, the athletes were up front and center, as they should be. We look forward to a politics-free outlook toward sports and athletes in all platforms. Let us show our athletes the love and support they deserve. They will repay us with what they just showed us in SEA Games 2019.