HANGZHOU—There is a reason why basketball in a multi-sports event like the Asian Games or Southeast Asian Games will always be the gold that matters most to Filipinos.
That’s because it’s worth a thousand golds, according to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham Tolentino.
That’s the weight and worth of Gilas Pilipinas’ achievement here, when the team won the Asian Games gold medal, its first in 61 years since the 1962 squad of basketball great Caloy Loyzaga was crowned kings of the region in the Jakarta games.
“It’s God’s will, prayers answered,” said Tolentino, referring to the gold in basketball, easily the most popular sport in the Philippines.
“But that’s actually five gold medals won all in all, counting Eumir’s [Felix Marcial] silver,” added Tolentino, who broke tradition by traveling to the luxurious Media Village inside the sprawling Asian Games Village to assemble a press conference.
Marcial settled for silver in his first foray in boxing’s light heavyweight division, a heavier category than the middleweight class where he clinched bronze in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics two years ago.
“And may Junna (Tsukii) pa tayo sa closing (Oct. 8),” added Tolentino, referring to the 50kg campaign by the two-time Karate 1 Premier League champion.
Tolentino stayed mum after Ernest John “EJ” Obiena expectedly won the men’s pole vault title in an Asian Games’ record of 5.75, which he reset to 5.90 meters for the country’s first gold medal in these games host China has dominated from the start.
The second and third golds were delivered by jiu-jitsu athletes Margarita Ochoa and Annie Ramirez, with Gilas contributing to the cause with the Filipinos’ fourth gold, a target that already matched the haul in Jakarta and Palembang four years ago.
“After 61 years … Thank you Lord, we proved once again that the Philippines is the No. 1 in Asia,” Tolentino said.