Category: Uncategorized

Mary Stephanie Agbay

While our taekwondo jins, our amateur boxer, our swimmers, archer, diver and the rest of the 15-person RP delegation to the Beijing Games disappointed our nation, one sport and one athlete made us proud.

His name? WWW. Wushu’s Willy Wang.

Participated in a field of over 40 nations, Willy Wang joined the demonstration sport of Wushu. No, it wasn’t counted in the official medals tally but, hey, a gold medal is a glistening gold metal. And not only did Wang, 24, take home the top prize—our RP delegation won more: one silver and two bronze medals.

Tony Quisumbing, one of the closest friends of my father-in-law, Jack Mendez, sent me an e-mail two days ago. A tennis aficionado who whips his racket at the same club where Ray Patuasi, Dodong Gullas, Mark Yang and Gerry Sta. Ana strut, Tony Q. is helping organize “The 2nd Sonny Young Friendship Games.”

For those who swing forehands at the Cebu Country Club, Sonny Young was a jovial and gregarious pal. But shock of shocks, one afternoon a few years back while playing the sport he’s relished for decades, Sonny collapsed after sprinting to retrieve a drop shot—then died of cardiac arrest.

This Saturday, one of the most awaited games in RP collegiate basketball will be fought: Ateneo vs. La Salle. Between the two squads, I admit being one-sided. For eight years until first year high school in Bacolod, I wore green. And so allow me to be partisan by quoting the Vice-President of our One La Salle Cebu Alumni Association (and Balamban’s top Councilor) in his text message exhortation.

Here’s Dave Karamihan: “La Salle is in a collision course with that school over the boondocks of Loyola Heights. They relish at this opportunity to pit their basketball skills and chants against us. But more often, they fall short, and retreat with head bowed down and tails between their legs to some cave only to come out in the next showdown.

Dr. Peter Mancao, not only one of Cebu’s top cardiovascular-surgeons but also one of this city’s tops in organizing running events, has another sortie scheduled this month. Here’s what Dr. Mancao, who’ll be in the Windy City with Dr. Yong Larrazabal this October 12 for the Chicago Marathon, e-mailed me:

“The Philippine Heart Association Cebu Chapter, in celebration of World Heart Day, will be holding a 5K and 10K Fun Run this Sept. 28. The assembly area will be at the Cebu Doctors’ University Gym. Technical support will be provided by the Cebu Road Runners Club; race director is Dr. Alex Junia.

One week has passed, eight days remain. To me, among tennis’ four Grand Slams, nothing is more riotous, whopping, lively, and earsplitting than the US Open.

Nine Augusts ago—back in 1999—I was lucky to have stepped inside Flushing Meadows together with my dad Bunny and another father-and-son tandem, Paquito and Fabby Borromeo. What we saw was everything oversized: massive crowds, colossal stadiums, larger-than-life players—a Slam unlike any other.

Take Roland Garros. While the French speak a different tongue, drink champagne at side-streets and swing racquets on clay, in New York it’s brash, trash talk, Budweiser beer and the US Open hard-court.

Two nights ago wasn’t the Closing Ceremony—that was a party. After 16 days of glitch-free Olympics that showcased world-class venues and introduced the warmth of the Chinese army of 1.5 million volunteers, the XXIX Games ended the way it began: with fireworks. For who, but our giant neighbors, can invent pyrotechnics that form the five Olympic rings on air? Or, at the program’s start, show the numbers “9,” “8,” “7,” all the way to “1” using the black night as canvas and fireworks as the paintbrush?

What a celebration! Compared to the formal walk of the 10,000-plus athletes during The Opening, the other night was a reggae, a fiesta, a gala, a carnival. When the Olympiads were called, they paraded inside the Bird’s Nest with no sequence, like little ants, mixed among nations, embracing, arms-locking, many donning gold medals on their necks.

Harry Tañamor lost in the first round. Eric Ang lost in the first round. Mark Javier lost in the first round. Henry Dagmil and Maristella Torres lost in the first round. So did swimmers Miguel Molina, James Walsh, Daniel Coakley, Ryan Arabejo and Christel Simms. Sheila Mae Perez lost in the first round. Same with our last hope in taekwondo, Toni Rivero and Thsomlee Go—all ousted in Round One.

The conclusion? It was RP’s worst showing on earth’s greatest show.

Our neighbors, how did they perform? Vietnam won one silver, Singapore won one silver, Malaysia another silver, Thailand one gold and one silver, Indonesia one gold, one silver and three bronze medals—while our nation which proudly claimed to be the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games champions just three years ago won nula. Kosong. Neoni. Nocht. In plain language you and I understand: itlog.

BEIJING-Wasn’t it perfect? Like he had it all planned. Just three hours away from that most-awaited date of “August 18” when he’ll be crowned tennis’ world no. 1, Rafael Nadal stood at that middle podium, raised his Spanish arms to the Beijing skyline, then accepted the sparkling gold medal from his countryman, the IOC president for life, Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Our last night in this city mixed with old culture and new high-rise buildings, what a fitting ending. Camera bulbs flashed. The Spanish flag was raised. Ten thousand avid fanatics jam-packed the Center Court. And, at the center of it all stood one man whose story became history.

The 2008 French Open Champion. The 2008 Wimbledon Champion. And now, the 2008 Beijing Olympics Gold Medalist.