By the time you read this, the 30th Olympics shall have officially opened its curtains in London.
With only eleven athletes, this is one of the smallest delegations of the Philippines to the world’s biggest spectacle. The Olympics is not just a sporting event, but the “event” of the world.
Since only very few have the money and opportunity to watch the Olympics live, we will have to make do with watching the action on TV.
It was reported that ABC-5 and AKTV will be airing the Olympic coverage in the Philippines through free TV.
I also heard that SkyCable TV is offering a pay-per-view package for two channels that would be airing the various events.
The next two weeks will be very exciting and I hope that the Philippines will win the coveted Olympic gold this time.
* * *
In my previous column, I wrote about our athletes and my regular visits to the golf club, even just for meetings and not for games, must have influenced my fingers when I wrote that the Facebook page for the Philippine Olympic team is Philippines Go for Golf (oops it should be Gold) 2012 Olympics.
Thanks to Nat Sagun, a former sportswriter who is now based in the US who pointed out the slip. Yes, I must have been thinking golf.
Nat and I also share another thing in common from our past, we once “hiked the planes of Luzon and climbed the mountains of Baguio to reach our precious destination the Philippine Military Academy.”
* * *
I wish I had the whole afternoon free yesterday, but free afternoons are hard to come by in my line of work.
But, despite the short time that I spent at the LH Leadership Conference 2012 held at the Oakridge Pavilion in Banilad, Mandaue City, I did not only enjoy, but learned much from the first speaker, Dyan Castillejo.
Since the theme of the conference was about “Being a Champion,” Dyan together with Paolo and Suzi Abrera and some of the members of the Philippine Azkals were invited by Edmun Liu as speaker.
Edmun himself is an accomplished speaker. His welcome address was very moving.
I would have learned more had I stayed on to listen to Paolo and Suzi and the Azkals led by team manager Dan Palami.
Being a champion does not only mean being a winner inside the court or playing field, but also outside of it.
In order to win, you must set goals and sacrifice. My initial goal is to lose a few pounds and I am now figuring out how I will start to attain that.
* * *
MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings to Grace Avila-Abad, Joy Siguenza, Josephine Maristela Cavada-Suson, Maya Streegan-Sarmago, Menchu Domingo, and Allan Torrevilas, who are turning a year older today.
Advance greetings go to tomorrow’s celebrants – Rachel Aballe-Rogado, Joan Villahermosa-Gomez, Rhia de Pablo, Didit Fernandez, Dr. Julius Eboa, CDN sports editor Rick Gabuya, and my cousins Mafie Nillas and Joieda Nillas.
More power to all of you!