This year has been surreal for the Maria Claras of Philippine sports.
Yeah, I'm stretching on the Maria Clara thing.
But if Juan Dela Cruz is our male name moniker... I find it lame that the girls are going to be called Juana Dela Cruz.
Ahem.
Moving on...
First up, Perlas Pilipinas won their first SEA Games gold medal. I don't know if this jinxed the medal hopes of the guys... but they did and they did it with style.
And then, this.
I guess Pinoys can excel in football if they train like hell as evidenced by how the ladies fared in the 2022 AFF Women's Championship. They stumbled in the semis but managed to unleash hell on their foes with awesomeness.
I haven't followed football lately - ever since the retirement of the Younghusband brothers. This is why it's nice to see these women kick ass. But more than that, I wish this is a wake-up call to basketball players and other heavily-funded sports that some players are really racking up the accolades despite the lack of mainstream exposure.
If you look at it, the three goals weren't as cinematic. They were crafty though. They played it physically and Thailand's defense was caught off-guard. The Sarina Bolden shot is, in some ways, an own goal but it's easy to score in that scenario because the Filipinas just made it difficult for the Thais to have a semblance of space. It's the same case with the goals of Jessica Cowart and Katrina Guillou. The Filipinas pounded the ball and something's got to give. Hats off to the passers as well because yeah... they just attacked and attacked and attacked and made it difficult for the Thais to breathe. Jaclyn Sawicki had the presence of mind to advance the ball and Tahnai Annis and Sara Eggesvik just saw the opportunity to just Hail Mary their assists to their teammates.
Throughout their campaign, they had the right mindset and just let the goals rain. Again, some goals aren't cinematic. But from Sarina Bolden's goal in Australia to the savage beatdowns of Singapore and Indonesia, they just did what they wanted to do and made everyone see it.
I know most players are from different origins but maybe their rise will pave the way for more people to invest time in football.
Congratulations, Filipinas!