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MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine contingent to the 29th Olympiad in Beijing returned home empty-handed again and everyone wondered why.
No great mystery here: Given the high costs of sports development in this poverty-stricken country, where sports is treated poorly, it is easy to discern the reason why tragedy struck our long-neglected athletes.
When will sports officials turn things around?
“We’ve got to start right now,” said Philippine Sports Commission chair Butch Ramirez. “Two or four more years (of preparations) are not enough for us to win the coveted gold. Success in sports takes a long time to achieve.”
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The PSC chief also said he was not criticizing Harry Tañamor, who lost to African champion Manyo Plange of Ghana in the Beijing Games, nor was he blaming amateur boxing association president Manny Lopez for the shock defeat. But he would ask boxing officials to explain what really went wrong.
From now on, Ramirez stressed, the agency would pursue a more aggressive boxing program where the top 20 young fighters would train under Cuban coaches. He said he would ask all national sports association officials, the leadership of the Philippine Olympic Committee and the PSC itself, to take full responsibility for the debacle in Beijing. “Heads must roll, including ours,” he added.
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“For the Philippines to go anywhere at all,” said retired Col. Julian Malonso, a former POC president, “sports officials should be men and women of good moral character with a long experience in sports. They should serve as role models for the public and the athletes to follow. They should not be politicians whose purpose in entering sports is only to gain political mileage nor political appointees with little or no experience in sports at all.”
The public is now sensitive and the people are more conscious about the medals we should be bringing home because government money is involved. This is money which should have gone to scientific training, better food, medicines and housing.
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The mid-1950s and the early ‘90s were undoubtedly the golden years of amateur boxing in the country. It was the era when the Far Eastern University stood above the rest by dominating not only the national championships but also sending many boxers to the Olympics.
Amateur boxing was virtually an FEU monopoly.
The Morayta-based school had built a gilt-edged reputation of producing champion boxers under legendary coach Celestino “Aling” Enriquez, a burly and tough-talking drillmaster who was feared but respected at the same time by friends and foes alike.
Enriquez was the coach when Anthony Villanueva, then 19, won our first Olympic silver medal during the Tokyo Games in 1964. Anthony accomplished the feat when the late sportsman Eugenio “Gene” Puyat was president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines.
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Fully supported by FEU’s sports-minded owners-brothers Nicanor “Noring” Reyes Jr. and Alfredo “Ding” Reyes, Enriquez mentored 1954 Manila Asian Games boxing gold medalists Ernesto Sajo, Alejandro Ortuoste, Celedonio Espinosa, Ernesto Porto and Vicente Tunacao.
Aling likewise coached the gold medalists in succeeding Asiads like Manfredo Alipala (1962 Jakarta), Rodolfo Arpon (1966 Bangkok), Ricardo Fortaleza of the fabulous Fortaleza brothers (1970 Bangkok) and Roberto Jalnaiz (1990 Beijing).
