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Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

A major disservice

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WE find it personally distressing that as our country prepares to host the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on July 5, the gentleman whose vision, commitment, hard work and legendary support for Philippine sports, the esteemed businessman –sportsman Manny Pangilinan is the subject of a relentless campaign to discredit him not merely in the eyes of our countrymen but also in the eyes of the international community that has lauded his efforts, especially in basketball.

Pangilinan lifted our country from the depths of basketball mediocrity under a group of men whose integrity was sullied beyond belief and who sold our respectability in basketball down the drain, and redeemed international respect and stature.

Whoever is behind this seemingly orchestrated campaign to vilify Mr. Pangilinan must know that he or she is doing a major disservice to our country and our sports development program by using the social media with a barrage of malicious accusations without any solid proof of wrongdoing on the part of MVP.

What pains if  not angers us is that a couple of Filipinos, who left our country and settled down in the United States from where they launch their vicious and libelous tirades, have in the process, also insulted our friends and neighbors in Indonesia, one of our staunchest allies in the Association of Southeast Asian nations.

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There seems to be an insidious effort to claim that incoming president Rody Duterte began the demolition job, which from what we have reliably gathered is farthest from the truth.

Indeed, people close to the president have intimated that President Duterte was actually very gracious and nice to MVP when he visited the incoming president in Davao City and that they themselves couldn’t fathom what is going on and who is actually behind this campaign to demonize a good and decent man who has, in recent years, put his heart and soul and indeed tons of money into developing various sports and enhancing our competitive balance in basketball, the sport that is nearest to the hearts of millions of Filipinos.

When Gilas Pilipinas behind the battlecry “Laban! Puso!!” qualified for the basketball World Cup in Spain by finishing runners-up in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships, losing to Iran in the finals when naturalized American Marcus Douthit was injured and couldn’t play, but defeated South Korea, our perennial nemesis, the packed stadium roared with unbridled delight with thousands from all walks of life and every conceivable social and economic spectrum coming together as one in a celebration that will long linger in our individual and collective memories.

That success was achieved under dynamic head coach Chot Reyes, whose fire and ice personality drove the team to heights beyond their own expectations.

It was MVP, who spent by far the most to achieve the goal of making it to the World Cup in Spain and cheered the loudest and with unbridled passion because he has always told us that sports is indeed a great  unifying factor in building a strong and resilient nation and people.

He and his able band of workhorses in the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, with executive director and former Philippine Basketball Association commissioner Renauld “Sonny” Barrios and valued supporters like former FIBA Asia secretary general Moying Martelino and others, helped stage a tournament of such magnitude with the style and class that is synonymous with the Philippines.

Regrettably, the vicious attacks on the biggest benefactor of Philippine sports in the past decade demonstrate the ugly side of a country known for its decency and compassion and a sense of gratitude.

Who is behind this we hopefully will find out soon enough.

In the meantime, let’s go out in droves waving Philippine flags and cheering ourselves hoarse as Gilas Pilipinas takes on World No. 5 ranked France and No. 21-ranked New Zealand in our bracket.

The Philippines, which is ranked No. 28, needs to win at least one of its two group matches to have a chance of qualifying for the crossover semifinals. It’s a tough ask but with the support of our people it can be done.

In the meantime, we fervently hope that those who are assailing MVP which indirectly also burdens our players and coaching staff, put the interest of the quest for a berth in the Rio Olympics above all else at least for the time being.

It isn’t too much to ask, is it?

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