I DON’T recall a surge in achievements in these athletic competitions since the 1980s or early 1990s.
Think about it.
Alex Eala won the US Open juniors championship. Now, she has a trifecta of junior Grand Slam titles to go with her 2020 Australian Open and 2021 French Open doubles.
EJ Obiena recently placed third in the pole vault competition in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. That was a solid follow up to his gold medal finish in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
The women’s national football team reached the semifinals of the 2022 Women’s Asian Cup in India and qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia next year. Not resting on their laurels, they also won the Asean Football Federation Women’s Championship.
Carlos Yulo has had a great 2022 where he took home three gold and one silver medals in the Asian Gymnastics Championships in Doha.
Yuka Saso also conquered the US Open for Women while representing the Philippines (although she switched to her Japanese nationality soon after).
And there’s Hidilyn Diaz bringing home the Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medal while Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam brought home silvers in boxing from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The national’s men’s team recently went on a stirring run in the recently concluded 44th Chess Olympiad.
The Ateneo Blue Eagles won the inaugural World University Basketball Series in Japan.
Oh, and Filipino basketball and football players have extended beyond the Asean region to Taiwan, Korea and Japan to play professional ball.
And recently, Kai Sotto joined the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. Although undrafted, he has not given up on his dream to play in the NBA. His career has been something followed very keenly by Filipino sports fans. Trolls even.
These achievers are building the work of people like the late Lydia de Vega, Stephen Fernandez, Paeng Nepomuceno, Toni Leviste, Ed Ocampo, Arianne Cerdeña, Onyok Velasco, Gerald and Jennifer Rosales, Felix Barrientos, Dyan Castillejo, Manny Pacquiao, and many others.
All I can say is Philippine sports is taking off and what a great time for fans and journalists alike.
However, that is not all.
It’s like in the last 12 years, the country has been continuously breaking new ground in many aspects. You can see director Marie Jamora making strides in Hollywood. There is also this new documentary film Delikado—about the senseless and shameful illegal trades in Palawan—by American filmmaker Karl Malakunas with help from some local producers. Delikado has been doing well in the international film festival circuit. There too are chefs also putting Filipino cuisine on the map and recording artists like Ben&Ben gaining recognition abroad.
There’s so much more.
While our national problems, disasters and even scandals have hurt our image in the national community, it is good to know there are sunbeams of hope shining through.
And I am covering as much of them as I can.