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SEA GAMES DISASTER The Philippine Star By now, the usual rhetoric on the need for reforms in sports development, additional funding, lessons learned (again) have been voiced by sports officials following Team Philippines disastrous 6th place finish in the 24th South East Asian (SEA) Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. That's sixth place, a rapid free fall from being overall champions two years ago when the country bagged 112 gold medals in the Losing to So what happened in Nakhon Ratchasima? Or better yet, what happened after Team All talk and whining Every sports official since the creation of the PSC in 1987 seems to have proposed or called for genuine sports development program and the oft-abused term grass roots sports development. Two decades later, we are still busy talking and whining about budgetary constraints. Discovering young talents with in-born international caliber athletic skills such as divers Sheila May Perez and Zardo Domenios in a The longer and more sustainable route therefore to sports development and consistently churning out home-grown world-class athletes is discovering raw talent and molding it through years and years of training, dedication and discipline. Veteran sports scribe Manny Pinol, who has since become North Cotabato governor and vice governor, pointed out that in meets such as district, provincial, and regional games running up to the Palarong Pambansa, it is common practice for student-athletes to be temporarily pulled out of schools and made to train for merely several days or weeks for a forthcoming tournament. Afterwards, they go back to school and tend to their fields with hardly any follow up or sustained training especially for those who have shown tremendous potential. Hence, a talented athlete stagnates until the next meet where he or she again trains for a few weeks. It's not just funding While money is an essential factor in sports development and success, this does not guarantee an effective and efficient sports development program. Judicious use of sports funds, and equally important, the right attitude, discipline, dedication, ideas and approach towards developing athletes are just as crucial. Discipline, dedication and a sustained, long-term sports development are what KO on RP boxing Not only must we look at our internal sports program, there is a need also to widen our sporting horizon on international events, something that we may have blighted during that infamous boxing “walk-out” at the 24th SEA Games. Instead of knocking out opponents in the ring, amateur boxing officials knocked millions of Filipinos boxing followers down by throwing away six final bouts in men's boxing. The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) and other top sports officials ordered Filipino boxers not to fight since in their view the boxers will just fall prey to severely biased judging just like what happened in the women's finals. Granted that cheating and biased judging would indeed take place, fighting in the ring and showing one's skills and try to outbox the opponent is the more honorable thing to do by an athlete who spent time and effort to prepare for competitions. Giving one's best is more important than just gaining the nod of judges. Had a Pinoy pug given his Thai rival a severe beating and still ended up losing, he would have earned the respect and admiration of the sporting community while the judges and probably their cohorts would have been acidly scorned. Because of the walkout, we have put ourselves in the line of fire instead. There are several effective ways to bring out and highlight protestations for biased judging in subjective sports like boxing where most winners are determined by judges' perception. But definitely, not confronting your opponents in the mat or ring and just walk away from the fight is not one of them. Sickening and frustrating This latest debacle in the international sports arena merely highlights the sickening and frustrating sports landscape in the country – where new blood in sports association leadership is lacking, discouraged by old fogies clinging on to their positions; where in-fighting and credit-grabbing among officials dissipate efforts to chart sustained development program; where politics and “bata-bata” system still prevails in selecting those lucky few who are sent abroad or to training sessions; where much needed funds flow elsewhere rather than to the athletes who need them most; and so on and so on. When will we start doing things right? “Pag-usapan Natin” at IBC-TV 13 Watch “Pag-usapan Natin,” a segment of the IBC-TV 13 news program News Tonite, from Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center,
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