‘Bata’ and Delasin shine brightest

MANILA, 4 January — Cue artist Efren "Bata" Reyes and parbuster Dorothy Joy Delasin, among other proud achievers on the international front, have provided the saving grace for a Philippine sports blighted, traditionally, by a cocktail of intrigues, intramurals and mud-slinging among sports leaders in the year just passed.

And the way these sports leaders had engaged indiscriminately in bickering and intrigues in their very own backyards, they could have easily grabbed the lion’s share in a newspaper’s showbiz pages and reduced the Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman divorce saga to bottom story.

But thanks to Reyes and Delasin — and to a small yet elite platoon of big-time winners — the Philippine sports survived yet another struggle, and yet another whole year of a circus-like sporting extravaganza.

They’ve, indeed, earned respect for, and given a good measure of pride to a country at a time kidnap-for-ransom had become a lucrative business in the south, and a disgraced president’s eagerly-awaited long-term stint in jail is inevitably becoming improbable.

And, indeed, it took two to tango for Philippine sports to heave a sigh of relief at the stroke of midnight on the last day of the year.

The amiable Reyes, who is fondly called "Bata" at home — a word which literally means kid, but notoriously known as "The Magician" in the international sports circuit owing to his penchant for hitting shots that could well reduce David Copperfield to an underrated performer during a barrio fiesta, shared the spotlight unselfishly with Delasin — a Fil-Am golfer whose heart is more Filipino than many Filipinos, particularly politicians, in terms of dedicating herself to the country.

The Angeles City native wowed everybody, particularly his opponents, when he scored victories here and there — some of which he achieved in stunning fashion.

Jeannette Lee, acknowledged to be the world’s best female billiards player today, found Reyes a true gentleman yet a deceptively dangerous adversary when they squared off in the highly-publicized Battle of the Sexes match at the Casino Filipino Ampitheater. The best Lee could offer the sentimental favorite during their duel was her enchanting beauty fit for human consumption and a token resistance as she was virtually beaten black and blue during their duel.

Reyes then took Japan and Poland, in that order, by storm as he mowed down his opponents — with a toothy smile yet to boot.

In claiming the title in that tournament in Japan, Reyes pocketed a record champion’s purse worth $160,000 before capping his sterling winning performance abroad with an overpowering show in the King of Pool tournament in Warsaw, Poland.

Delasin, a Fil-Am by citizenship and raised in Daly City, needed a pair of whistling performances on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour in the US to emerge hands-down as the year’s Queen of Philippine sports.

After being named Rookie of the Year on the Tour the previous year, Delasin proved that she’s one of the best female golfers in the world today, if not the best, when, in an invitation-only tournament, she stunned Korean sensation Se Ri Pak and Australian hotshot Karrie Webb to win the world championship.

Prior to this, Delasin kept her Giant Eagle Classic title by coming mightily from behind to defeat Pak.

In the international boxing ring where Filipino prize fighters usually make their marks, Manny Pacquiao saved a year marked by a long array of failures and misfortunes.

His success to capture the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-bantamweight title one hot day in June in Las Vegas made up for fellowman Gerry Penalosa’s failure to regain the world crown in his own campaign.

Penalosa went home empty-handed after losing on points to North Korean-Japanese Masamori Tokuyama in his bid to reclaim the World Boxing Council (WBC) super flyweight belt in Japan. Another homegrown pugilist, Malcolm Tunacao, lost the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight

But the country’s grief over Penalosa’s and Tunacao’s setbacks was overwhelmed by Pacquiao’s victory.

For despite a 16-day notice, Pacquiao grabbed the 122-lb crown from the hands of South African Lehlo Ledwaba on the undercard of an Oscar de la Hoya headliner at the MGM Grand.

And he did it in grand style.

Armed to the teeth and with a poison-packed left straight, Pacquiao — a former WBC flyweight kingpin — pummeled Ledwaba no end before knocking him out in the sixth round to distinguish himself as the third Filipino to win two world titles in different weight categories.

When he made his first defense of the title in November in San Francisco, Pacquiao was held to a six-round split draw by Agapito Sanchez of the Dominican Republic.

But what endeared Pacquiao more to his countrymen was the mere sight of him bloodied, low-blown and pinned to the canvas with every illegal move possible, but truly fighting like a true-blue champion. He refused to give up the fight despite being elbowed, hit below the belt and laced by Sanchez throughout their bout.

Only a deep cut on the General Santos City slugger’s eyebrow forced the ringside physician to declare the fight a draw.

Before becoming the IBF titlist, Pacquiao hurdled two tough fights against Japan-born, North Korean Tetsutora Senrima and Thai Wethya Sakmuangklang, in February and April, respectively, back home.

Bowler Liza del Rosario claimed a chunk of global prominence when she mowed down pins on the way to the finals of the prestigious World Cup. Unfortunately, she settled for the runner-up finish but she, indeed, made the country proud with her winning of the silver medal that glittered more like gold.

The country’s own version of China’s Ma’s Army also shone in the Southeast Asian Games.

Go Teng Kok’s army of athletes won eight golds in the biennial competition.

The 502-man Philippine contingent went home with 31 golds, 65 silvers and 67 bronzes, good for fifth place.

Of this harvest, Go’s army tabbed nine gold medals, 10 silvers and 14 bronzes and finished second to powerhouse Thailand which captured 21 golds in the event.

That achievement will go down as the best by the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA), headed by Go, since 1991 when the country hosted the SEA Games in Manila.

Tiny Eduardo Buenavista stood tallest among the Filipino tracksters as he ruled two events in record fashion, snaring the mints in the 5,000-meter run and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Incidentally, Fidel Gallenero became the country’s second double-gold medalist in track and field days before the year came to a close as the SEAG Committee found out that men’s javelin throw champion Thirdsuk Boonjansri of Thailand failed to pass a drug test.

With this development, Gallenero duplicated Buenavista’s two-gold haul in athletics after also conquering the men’s decathlon.

Likewise, the Philippines produced the king and queen of SEAG marathon as the veteran Roy Vence ruled the men’s division while Christabel Martes topped the distaff side.

Legendary Elma Muros, 34, claimed the gold in the heptathlon that made up for her failure to defend her crown in the long jump event for the first time since ruling the event in 1983.

A four-year-old bay colt named Wind Blown emerged as the most successful horse, sweeping major tournaments like the Breeders’ Cup, the Gran Copa de Manila, and the Presidential Gold Cup.

In basketball, San Sebastian College won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) seniors title, Shark Energy Drink plucked the PBL Challenge Cup crown; Welcoat topped the PBL Chairman’s Cup; the Batangas Blades reigned supreme in the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA); and three teams, San Miguel Beer, Red Bull and Sta. Lucia Realty, claimed each of the three titles in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Interestingly, American Ron Jacobs was named national coach of the Philippine team which will compete in the Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea, in September.

Disgruntled national athletes, led by former weightlifter Jaime Sebastian, mounted a series of protest rallies calling for a major revamp in the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), particularly the ouster of its head, Butch Tuason.

They marched to Malacanang and held talks with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whose husband Mike Arroyo happens to be Tuason’s first cousin. The athletes, together with coaches, officials of various National Sports Associations (NSAs) as well as PSC employees, called for Tuason’s resignation, citing graft and corruption in the agency and mismanagement.

Away from the battle fields, intrigues, intramurals and mud-slinging among sports leaders and a low government budget had slowed down the growth of Philippine sports during the year.

Still, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Carlos Tuason is looking onward with optimism about the future.

In his traditional yearend report, Tuason said the year 2001 saw the rise of obstacles that almost derailed the PSC.

The huge slash of the working budget which limited the PSC’s financial assistance to national sports associations was the government’s sports agency’s biggest problem. This, however, did not stop the PSC from fulfilling its mission to uplift Philippine sports.

"A major concern is the huge slash of the working budget. For how in the world could we finance our grassroots programs and projects — apart from the assistance to elite sports and the day-to-day operators — without the funds at hand?" Tuason said. "Bickering and intrigues among sports officials is another problem that we encountered, which affected the moral of practically everyone."