Goodbye 2017, hello 2018
IN a few days, it will be goodbye 2017, hello 2018 for all of us.
This is the time of the year that the obituary in the sporting year about to end is now being written.
Surely, we had some memorable moments in the wonderful world of sports in 2017 -- Krizziah Lyn Tabora’s meteoric rise in the World Cup of Bowling, Carlo Biado’s triumph in the World 9-ball billiards, Jerwin Ancajas’ successful title defenses in boxing, Mary Joy Tabal’s dominance in athletics and Jomar Balangui’s inspiring performance in the Taipei Universiade wushu competitions.
And even the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas’ successul bid to host the 2023 FIBA World Cup along with Japan and Indonesia.
But of course, we are always ready for a fresh start.
We have celebrated the triumphs of these few good men and women in local sports but now we’re ready to move forward by welcoming 2018 and saying goodbye to the five things we’d like to leave behind in 2017.
-- POC president Peping Cojuangco and other over-staying and under-achieving sports officials.
We’ve heard about it many times before in the past. So we say enough is enough. The Filipino sports fans have suffered long enough.
Save for Tabora and a few other athletes who made us proud, the Philippines’ showing in the sporting year about to end left a lot to be desired. In fact, the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur was a complete disaster no matter how the best spin doctors put it.
And before that fateful two weeks in Kuala Lumpur where the Filipinos won only 23 golds, the Filipino sports fans were treated to nothing but sad telenovelas of failed missions here, there and everywhere.
Consider the debacles in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta, the 2012 Olympics in London, 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and 2017 SEA Games in KL -- all under Cojuangco’s watch.
In 2018, the sports community pray that these Jurassic-like sports officials will finally see the light, decide to throw in the towel and give way to young, energetic and results-oriented new leaders.
It’s a dream. But we can dream, can’t we?
-- Too much politics and the never-ending power struggle among sports leaders.
Most of the disasters in international competitions have been blamed on the wrong choice of athletes tasked to represent the country.
But do we have the right officials?
Since being appointed by President Duterte to the country’s government sports body, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Butch Ramirez and his four commissioners -- Ramon Fernandez, Charles Maxey, Arnold Agustin and Celia Kiram -- are waging an all-out war against corruption in sports and eradicate the bata-bata practice by some non-performing NSAs.
As Ramirez himself said, “Money isn’t only problem affecting local sports. Sometimes the choice of athletes by our officials hurt our chances, too. It’s about time we do something about it.”
The leadership squabbles in some national sports associations also hurt our chances to do better in the sporting field.
Why, even the ever-reliable Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP), which has produced one gold and two silver medals in only four Universiades, is now being pulled down by power-hungry, credit-grabbing individuals.
After giving the country a gold medal in chess thru GM Wesley So in 2013 Kazan Universiade and silver medals in taekwondo thru Samuel Morrison in 2011 Shenzhen and wushu thru Balangui in 2017 Taipei, FESSAP is now being unfairly questioned by several individuals who want to take over and replace it with their own organization.
In 2018, we hope these self-proclaimed leaders put an end to politics in sports and give credit where credit is due.
-- Unsportsmanlike attitude of officials and below-par performances of referees and other game officials.
We all know that nobody is perfect. In sports, even top officials make glaring errors in judgment.
This year, we have had enough that we will surely run out of space if we list the so-called violators.
We certainly can leave them behind and see more sportsmanship on and off the court next year.
We surely don’t want another young reader writing the newspaper editor to ask if there’s still sportsmanship in sports.
-- Gambling, game-fixing, point-shaving and related nuances.
We know they exist as far back as the birth of the Olympic Games in Greece. But can we at least control them, or as they used to say it in politics, moderate the greed?
Although nobody can prove it, many great games and great players have been unfairly affected by these malpractices. Several collegiate players have been unceremoniously removed from their teams on suspicions that they took a dive on important games.
If we can’t completely stop it, at least let’s try to leave some of them behind in 2017.
-- And finally, an end to the never-ending persecution of our friend, Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) secretary-general Graham Lim.
What have you done wrong in sports, Mr. Lim?
If wanting to be a Filipino citizen and joining your family at home after being forced out for so many years now is a crime, then maybe let’s bring together all our brilliant lawmakers and rewrite all existing laws about human rights.
If trying to earn a living as honestly as he can is also a crime, let’s also persecute all the less-fortunate individuals selling their wares on the sidewalks.
And if loving basketball too much is a crime, let’s deport him to some faraway island where there are no basketballs.
In 2018, let me add our small voice to the silent majority wishing -- and praying -- for an end to this unfair and inhuman treatment of Lim.
It just wasn’t right.
NOTES -- Happy birthday to my youngest brother Christopher Andaya, who will celebrate on Dec. 31 in Riyadh, KSA.
For comments and suggestions, e-mail to [email protected]
- December 26, 2017 People's Tonight
- Written by Ed Andaya; Published in Opinion
IN a few days, it will be goodbye 2017, hello 2018 for all of us.
This is the time of the year that the obituary in the sporting year about to end is now being written.
Surely, we had some memorable moments in the wonderful world of sports in 2017 -- Krizziah Lyn Tabora’s meteoric rise in the World Cup of Bowling, Carlo Biado’s triumph in the World 9-ball billiards, Jerwin Ancajas’ successful title defenses in boxing, Mary Joy Tabal’s dominance in athletics and Jomar Balangui’s inspiring performance in the Taipei Universiade wushu competitions.
And even the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas’ successul bid to host the 2023 FIBA World Cup along with Japan and Indonesia.
But of course, we are always ready for a fresh start.
We have celebrated the triumphs of these few good men and women in local sports but now we’re ready to move forward by welcoming 2018 and saying goodbye to the five things we’d like to leave behind in 2017.
-- POC president Peping Cojuangco and other over-staying and under-achieving sports officials.
We’ve heard about it many times before in the past. So we say enough is enough. The Filipino sports fans have suffered long enough.
Save for Tabora and a few other athletes who made us proud, the Philippines’ showing in the sporting year about to end left a lot to be desired. In fact, the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur was a complete disaster no matter how the best spin doctors put it.
And before that fateful two weeks in Kuala Lumpur where the Filipinos won only 23 golds, the Filipino sports fans were treated to nothing but sad telenovelas of failed missions here, there and everywhere.
Consider the debacles in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta, the 2012 Olympics in London, 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and 2017 SEA Games in KL -- all under Cojuangco’s watch.
In 2018, the sports community pray that these Jurassic-like sports officials will finally see the light, decide to throw in the towel and give way to young, energetic and results-oriented new leaders.
It’s a dream. But we can dream, can’t we?
-- Too much politics and the never-ending power struggle among sports leaders.
Most of the disasters in international competitions have been blamed on the wrong choice of athletes tasked to represent the country.
But do we have the right officials?
Since being appointed by President Duterte to the country’s government sports body, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Butch Ramirez and his four commissioners -- Ramon Fernandez, Charles Maxey, Arnold Agustin and Celia Kiram -- are waging an all-out war against corruption in sports and eradicate the bata-bata practice by some non-performing NSAs.
As Ramirez himself said, “Money isn’t only problem affecting local sports. Sometimes the choice of athletes by our officials hurt our chances, too. It’s about time we do something about it.”
The leadership squabbles in some national sports associations also hurt our chances to do better in the sporting field.
Why, even the ever-reliable Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP), which has produced one gold and two silver medals in only four Universiades, is now being pulled down by power-hungry, credit-grabbing individuals.
After giving the country a gold medal in chess thru GM Wesley So in 2013 Kazan Universiade and silver medals in taekwondo thru Samuel Morrison in 2011 Shenzhen and wushu thru Balangui in 2017 Taipei, FESSAP is now being unfairly questioned by several individuals who want to take over and replace it with their own organization.
In 2018, we hope these self-proclaimed leaders put an end to politics in sports and give credit where credit is due.
-- Unsportsmanlike attitude of officials and below-par performances of referees and other game officials.
We all know that nobody is perfect. In sports, even top officials make glaring errors in judgment.
This year, we have had enough that we will surely run out of space if we list the so-called violators.
We certainly can leave them behind and see more sportsmanship on and off the court next year.
We surely don’t want another young reader writing the newspaper editor to ask if there’s still sportsmanship in sports.
-- Gambling, game-fixing, point-shaving and related nuances.
We know they exist as far back as the birth of the Olympic Games in Greece. But can we at least control them, or as they used to say it in politics, moderate the greed?
Although nobody can prove it, many great games and great players have been unfairly affected by these malpractices. Several collegiate players have been unceremoniously removed from their teams on suspicions that they took a dive on important games.
If we can’t completely stop it, at least let’s try to leave some of them behind in 2017.
-- And finally, an end to the never-ending persecution of our friend, Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) secretary-general Graham Lim.
What have you done wrong in sports, Mr. Lim?
If wanting to be a Filipino citizen and joining your family at home after being forced out for so many years now is a crime, then maybe let’s bring together all our brilliant lawmakers and rewrite all existing laws about human rights.
If trying to earn a living as honestly as he can is also a crime, let’s also persecute all the less-fortunate individuals selling their wares on the sidewalks.
And if loving basketball too much is a crime, let’s deport him to some faraway island where there are no basketballs.
In 2018, let me add our small voice to the silent majority wishing -- and praying -- for an end to this unfair and inhuman treatment of Lim.
It just wasn’t right.
NOTES -- Happy birthday to my youngest brother Christopher Andaya, who will celebrate on Dec. 31 in Riyadh, KSA.
For comments and suggestions, e-mail to [email protected]