Hidilyn Diaz destroyed the Philippines’ Olympic gold medal drought after her brilliant performance.
And then, Nesthy Petecio duplicated the late Anthony Villanueva’s feat of claiming silver for boxing in Tokyo.
Then, the hard-hitting knockout artist Eumir Marcial settled for the bronze medal.
Yes, I said settle… a term used by sportswriters and bloggers with no hint of malice in it.
Anyway, it was a heartbreaking loss for the middleweight because he packed his fists with superb damage. With that said, Oleksandr Khyzhniak proved to be a better fighter. The match could have gone to either fighter but if it’s a slugfest we wanted, the performance of these two did not disappoint.
So one gold, one silver, and one bronze in what is considered to be our greatest Olympiad.
Now what?
Inasmuch as having 1-1-1 is “cute”, Carlo Paalam is going to mess things up by adding another gold medal.
Think positive, baby!!!
The dude is a counterpuncher… and he is also crafty as hell. Paalam’s combo of skills and smarts has downed top-seeds as well as ruin the much-anticipated hometown advantage. Ryomei Tanaka couldn’t shout his way from Paalam’s flying fists. With the unanimous decision, Paalam is one win away from getting the big prize.
At the moment, the government has guaranteed monetary incentives for all our athletes. Not only will these incentives help the athletes, but they will also entice the youngsters to look for a career in sports. What’s stopping the corporations from reviving the Tour of Luzon especially now that the highways have fewer cars and there are bike lanes almost everywhere. Maybe billiards could also return.
And I will really pitch this idea if I get the chance. Let’s create reality shows that will help Philippine sports discover their next big talent. Back in the early 2010s, Clear for Men sponsored a basketball program wherein Chris Tiu works as a host to “discover” the next big basketball player. The reason it did not work is that the players that joined the program are either former college stars or current semipro players. Maybe the show was ahead of its time since 3X3 would eventually become an Olympic sport… but discovering basketball stars from the grassroots area can’t happen in one-time sponsored shows.
But weightlifting, pole vaulting, rowing, and archery are amongst the sports that could happen with a rich backup.
Anyway, all eyes are on Paalam as he tries to finish the Philippine Olympic campaign with a bang.