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THEY can?t go on winning like this?angrily divided?but the Philippine Olympic Committee obviously thinks otherwise.
In fact, one avid backer of Jose ?Peping? Cojuangco, the POC president, cried to set the record straight that there was nothing wrong with the POC president leaving Laos at a crucial point of the Philippine campaign in the 2009 Vientiane Games.
?There was nothing mysterious about Peping (Cojuangco) and Steve (Hontiveros) leaving Laos when they did,? explained the Cojuangco backer who shall remain unidentified for now.
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He continued: ?In fact, at about halfway, all NOC presidents and sec-gens go home (if they even go to the Games). Peping and Steve were the last to leave and, while in Laos, they were all over the place cheering our competitors on.?
That was a factual statement.
?At the SEA Games, the chef de mission?s sudden departure would be cause for alarm (it didn?t happen to us) as he even outranks NOC officers at any Games,? it was added. ?NOC leaders finish their SEA Games council meetings, set the directions for the future and go home.?
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It?s all natural, our instant lecturer on Olympism stressed.
But, as previously stated here, what was rather unnatural, if not totally unexpected, was the happy turn of events for Team Philippines that came after Cojuangco, captain of the expedition, had left.
So did Cojuangco do wrong in leaving Laos unannounced, a move that caught athletes and members of the Manila media by surprise?
?The magic of it all was how Filipino athletes?once Cojuangco had left?carved out seven-gold medal harvests for two successive days to ensure the Philippines would no longer languish in the stinking cellar,? we stated in a previous column.
Now, this is not to suggest Cojuangco should get a patent for that surprise win-win move and do it in future Games.
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The clear call for him is to play the true gentleman, behave like an uncle of Noynoy Aquino, fast-emerging next President of the Republic.
The Philippine Sportswriters Association has offered to host a dialogue between Cojuangco and his nemesis, Philippine Sports Commission chair Harry Angping, who has all these days been offering his hand in peace.
?That was a sound move, you and the PSA could be the catalyst for peace in RP sports this year,? said swimming association head Mark Joseph, a trusted Cojuangco adviser, in an open call for the POC chief to make the right move.
There?s big danger, though.
Cojuangco, as we went to press, appeared more willing to swing with the whims of athletics association president Go Teng Kok, his assigned trouble-shooter who, more often than not, comes up with more troubles for poor RP sports.
