Hidilyn Diaz - Olympic Gold

 

The Philippines used to have the uneviable reputation as the country having the most Olympic medals won without ever winning a gold.

Hidilyn Diaz herself has a silver medal from 2016 in Rio, as do two Philippine boxers who settled for second place.

Points Scoring System

Most observers believe that the Filipino boxers have traditionally not been given a fair enough treatment in terms of point scoring and presumably have been "robbed" a few times of the chance to win Olympic gold. But this is the risk of any sport using a judges based scoring system. It will always be inherently subjective and prone to human error.

Weightlifting

In other sports, like weightlifting, one do not have to score against an opponent. One just needs to be faster, higher, stronger than everyone else and do so within the rules of the game.

Hidilyn Diaz did this in a dramatic way, outlifting her closest opponent on the last lift and by one kilogram, establishing an Olympic record in the process.

Inadequate Funding

The Philippines is one of those less fortunate countries where individual athletes basically need to train and fend for themselves, especially in a pandemic.

Beating all the odds and the lack of comparable support and training which other countries enjoy, Hidilyn on her winning lift just lifted on her back and carried on her arms and shoulders the dreams of the entire Philippine nation, through her grit, passion and sheer determination -- truely a notable Filipina.

Another Filipina athlete, Arianne Cerdena technically won the Philippines' first Olympic gold medal, in the 1988 Seoul Olympic games. Bowling was a demonstration sport at that edition of the games and all the medals won in that sport at that time were not counted in the official medal tally.

Multiple Medals

Hidilyn joins fellow Filipino athlete, swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso as being the only Filipinos to win a medal in two Olympic games. Yldefonso won the bronze medal in the 1928 games in Amsterdam and repeated his podium finish in 1932 in Los Angeles.

Tokyo 2020 (2021)

Japan made it possible for dreamers like Hidilyn and other athletes from countries who have yet to win medals in the Olympics to achieve their dreams. They could have easily cancelled these games but they didn't. 

In doing so, the glass ceiling has been broken for Philippine sports. Push onwards athletes, the best is still to come.

If one athlete can do this, imagine what the Philippines can achieve when they all support one another and support their country.

Flag and anthem. Salute and tears. (Hidilyn is a sergeant in the Philippine Air Force)

96 years in the making

Let's watch how Hidilyn lifted her nation on her back and shoulders.

Drama all the way

Bowling

Arianne Cerdena winning the Olympic gold medal in Seoul 1988

Tab Baldwin

Tab Baldwin & Gilas Pilipinas

Okay, Coach Tab Baldwin is not Filipino, we know that. But for someone not having Filipino blood, he sure has the Filipino Puso (heart) and the Filipino balls, that of a David going after the Goliath.

Adopted

Also being the head of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth National Basketball Program, the (unofficial) national team sport of the Philippines, then he has become an adopted Filipino.

He has the uneviable task and Herculian burden of carrying Gilas on his shoulders through the next World Mens Basketball Games and who knows, even bringing back Philippine Basketball on the Olympic stage.

Balls of Steel

After publicly saying in a recent podcast what his personal opinions are of what is wrong with Phillipine basketball worrying not about angering FIBA, local Filipino coaches and the mighty SBP and the PBA, then he really could be considered as a certified adopted Pinoy -- fighting for the cause of Philippine basketball more than any other previous Filipino head coach,  even though he knows that he will be in the receiving end of criticism from his peers within the local Filipino coaching circle.

Sanctioned

Now after being sanctioned and fined and castigated by local coaches and the PBA, for speaking his mind, I just hope something positive will come out of his revelations, particularly because what he said is true.

Without changing any of the outmoded style of recruiting, training, selecting, coaching and everything else, then there is no way for Philippine basketball to move up internationally, especially now that all other national basketball programs are doing everything to better themselves, including recruiting foreign coaches and players.

Let's watch what he said here.

Time will tell and will come when his words will be proven true.

Filipinos -- World's Craziest Basketball Fans

7'6" Yao Ming knocks out 5"6' Pacquiao  #FIBAWC

The Philippines Loses Bid to Host FIBA World Cup of Basketball 2019

Even though the Philippines boasts as being home to the craziest basketballs fans in the planet, they still lost in their bid to host the next World Cup of Basketball to China.

This will be China's first time to host the FIBA WC, the Philippines hosted one back in 1978 when they then had the largest coliseum in the world.

Today, the Philippines has since built many other venues and again is home to the biggest indoor basketball arena in the world, one that could sit 55,000. They also boast of a few other other world class indoor arenas and they were so ready for this world cup.

Watch their final petition here:

Lou Diamond Phillips, Manny Paquiao, Jimmy Alapag, Chot Reyes

Yes, as in who could have turned that down?

But no, it wasn't meant to be and people all over the world could only speculate as to what could have been.

Authentic Love for the Sport

Because these crazy Filipinos do not need to "manufacture"anything, their hearts beat basketball, it was their time, like no other time. The Philippines didn't need much of anything else, when they have the greatest and most die-hard fans in the planet.

To give you an idea of how basketball crazy Filipinos are, like in the USA, they also have three professional sports seasons in one year -- but unlike in the US, they are all played in the basketball court (no pro soccer, no pro baseball, no pro American football, volleyball, cricket or anything else) -- just basketball, all year round.

Worldwide Online and Out

100 million plus basketball crazy fans within their 7,100 islands. Tens of millions of other "kababayans" all over the world at any given time, people who would most likely buy FIBA merchandise, welcome the players like no other would, and virtually heat up social media and boost the sport like no other nation can -- they are among the top (if not the top) social media users in the world.

And who could forget this Fox Sports Film about the FIlipinos' hope, determination and resilience and their uncommon Love for Basketball.

But no, we just hope that this isn't anything like what has happened at FIFA.

This Isn't Over

Philippine basketball fans have a never-say-die attitude. They would root for their team no matter what. And they would still be fans through thick and thin.

But one thing I do know, these fans would just want to know who were the countries who voted for the Philippines' bid, so that 100 million basketball crazy Filipinos would be able to salute them and say thanks.

But then again, most would probably be more interested in knowing who were those who didn't vote for them.

Let the games begin.