Philippine Showbiz Today 27
December 8 - 21 , 2015
Philippine Showbiz Today 27
Did you know that the days covering the last week of November until the first week of December are worth remembering in the country ’ s quest for honors and recognition in the international amateur sports scenes ?
Only few , perhaps , remember that on November 25 until December 5 , 1991 , the Philippines played host to the the 16th Southeast Asian Games called the “ Manila Miracle of ‘ 91 ,” and came up with its worthiest performance in the biennial conclave -- a second overall finish -- losing to eventual champion Indonesia in terms of silver medal harvest .
After the smoke of battle was extinguished , the Filipino athletes headed by swimmer Eric Buhain , teammate Akiko Thompson , also in swimming , and sprinter Lydia de Vega-Mercado , matched the Indonesians 91 gold-medal output , one short of Indonesia ’ s 92 and had to settle for a bride finish .
One month later , however , an Indonesian winner in weightlifting was stripped of the gold medal when found positive to drug use bringing the gold-medal tally between the overall champion and the host to an even Steven 91-stalemate .
The Indonesians still went home though with the overall crown on the strength of their 86 silvermedal haul to the Filipinos 62 .
Fourteen years later ,
Former world champion Nonito “ The Filipino Flash ” Donaire is all set for his December 11 super bantamweight showdown against Mexican Cesar Juarez in Puerto Rico .
Speaking to Ronnie Nathanielsz of Boxing Scene , Donaire ’ s trainer and father , Dodong Donaire , said his son “ is back .”
“ He ’ s a lot better now . The way he boxes , also in November and the country , for the third time , as venue of the Games , the heirs of Buhain and De Vega-Mercado did even better with victories
Most Outstanding Male Athlete Eric Buhain won 6 gold medals in swimming
sweeter and more dramatic as they emerged the overall champions for the first time since joining the SEA Games Federation in 1977 .
The Philippines ’ runner up finish he 1991 SEA Games proved , once more , the Filipino athletes ’ capability to rise from the grave , show their supremacy over their counterparts from he region and to honor a commitment as member of the brotherhood of nations .
Being able to stage the Games as scheduled
despite economic restrictions was a “ miracle ” in itself . Winning 91 gold medals , 62 silver and 86 bronze medals was another .
Never have the entire nation been as united by a single cause than their spontaneous support to their athletes whose quantum leap from fifth place two years prior in Kuala Lumpur , where
The Week in Sports their basketball team lost the title for the first time , was astounding enough .
The display of national courage by no less than President Cory Aquino , who insisted on staging the Games here despite calls from her brain-drained officials to cancel the same and due economic hardship brought about by several natural and man-made calamities that struck the country the past two years .
A killer quake hit most part of Luzon July of 1990 , Mt . Pinatubo erupted in June of 1991 and flash floods in Leyte killed thousands to months before the Games were to commence . It looked like the Games , were , indeed , doomed .
Her voice booming , Tita Cory answered NO to the voices asking that hosting be transferred to another country more capable of doing so . Infrastructure which remained unfinished and posed another big problem was completed in time for the opening ceremony . Equipment came in time for the competitions .
And why not ? Tita Cory was about to celebrate her first SEA Games since signing Rep . Act 6847 , the law creating the Philippines Sports Commission two years back in 1990 .
As in 1981 during the country ’ s first ever hosting of the event , the Filipinos met the deadliest in scrambling fashion , dressed up their premier city and flashed the world-renowned smile of hospitality to meet their guests , who , for two years running didn ’ t hide their skepticisms over the hosts ability to come through .
And the athletes , to whose benefit thr PSC Law was created , did the lady who affixed her signature to the bill justice by responding to the call and egged on by their countrymen , put on their strongest showing in the
Trackster Lydia de Vega- Mercado celebrates after regaining her crown as SEA Games ’ Sprint Queen
then 32-year meet .
Yes , the host campaigners swarmed all over the competition venues , from the decadesold Rizal Memorial Spots Complex where Buhain won all six events he competed in to claim his back-to-back “ outstanding male athlete ” honor and the RMSC Coliseum for basketball , to Ninoy Aquino Stadium for wushu , the Marines Range at Fort Bonifacio for shooting , back to RMSC oval for athletics , Folk Arts Theater for boxing and even the hilly Antipolo mountains for cycling and golf , the Filipinos came to conquer .
Juan dela Cruz ’ s report card reflected high marks in 13 disciplines with De Vega-Mercado reclaiming her crown not only as Southeast Asia ’ s “ Fastest Woman ” but she ’ s as well , the basketball team , likewise , recaptured
Donaire is all set for December 11 fight the way he thinks …. Now he lands his punches very accurately ,” said .
Donaire enters the Juarez fight on a twomatch winning streak , having beaten William Prado in March and Anthony Settoul in July .
His father is confident that “ The Filipino Flash ” will be impressive against Juarez as well , especially after seeing how hard he trained .
“( Nonito ) trained very hard for this fight , and was not like the old Nonito ,” Dodong said . “ He ’ s a much better boxer , a thinker , and the power is there .”
“ Nonito did what he wants to do in the ring , and looks very good ,” he added . “ The guys give him a lot of work and keep pressure him , and even if he hurts them , they keep on coming .”
“ If Nonito feels that he hurt them , he slows down a little bit .”
Donaire will spar for a total of 10 rounds on Tuesday and Thursday , and will leave for Puerto Rico on Friday .
The 24-year-old Juarez has a 17-3 win-loss record and has won his last four bouts , including a decision victory over Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr . in July wherein he earned the WBO international super bantamweight title .•
- ABS-CBN Sports SPORTS the title in the sport the nation love most , besides rubbing salt to Malaysia ’ s humiliation by eliminating the defending champions in football .
In the end , the Buhain-led Filipino swimmers ended up the winning contingent with 10 gold medals matched by his shooters and wushu fighters . De Vega- Mercado and her athletic teammates brought home eight along with the boxers and taekwondo team .
Rounding out the host country ’ s gold-medal harvest were karatedo , 5 ; bowling , 4 , billiards and snooker , 4 ; cycling , 4 , gymnastics , 4 ; golf , 3 ; lawn tennis , 3 ; judo , 2 , softball , 2 ; and basketball , bodybuilding , fencing , weightlifting , yachting 1 each .
The 16th edition of the once-every-two-year conclave came out as the tightest in its history with the hosts country and the defending overall champion chasing each other for hrs solid 11- day hostilities with the Indonesia still led the gold medal race 90-91 after 10 days of battle and the Philippines needing a push of he remaining men ’ s and women ’ s marathon to dethrone the perennial winner .
Herman Suizo ruled the 42-kilometer run , but the Philippines ’ hopes died even before the women ’ s race fired off when local bet Arsenia “ The Barefoot ” Sagaray dropped of contention near the homestretch giving Indonesian Maria Lawalata the win hands down . ( Next issue : How the Philippines won the ‘ 05 SEA Games ) •