It’s the worst weather we have had in the past two weeks, although the threat and possibility of rain have always been there since the opening of the 23rd SEA Games.
The threat of foul weather was only one of the many problems the organizers of the SEA Games had to contend with. Rain clouds were hovering over the Quirino Grandstand a couple of hours before the opening ceremonies. In fact, it was drizzling at the PICC where the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (Philsoc) secretariat was located. An hour before the ceremonies started the skies cleared and we had perfect weather throughout the program. Thirty minutes after the program, Luneta was drenched by a heavy downpour.
Throughout competition week, storm clouds hovered, intermittent drizzles fell but not enough to disrupt the games. The closing ceremonies were spared of rain, even as it poured after the closing rites.
It must have been the Friday Masses that the Philippine Olympic Committee held as part of the run-up activities to the games. It was indeed heartwarming to see our sports officials and athletes forming a long communion queue during these Masses.
It must also have been the image of the Holy Family that Peping enshrined in the Philsoc secretariat that provided guidance and fortitude to all the organizers and volunteers.
We all prayed for Divine Providence to make sure the games were a success. And we got that. We prayed for unity. We got that, too. We prayed that our athletes would answer the call of national pride and do their best. We got that – and how!
The first-ever overall championship. We prayed that the Filipino would feel good about himself and our country – that we would be the best that we can be. And we got that. We prayed that our foreign guests would see and appreciate the best of us, our hospitality, our creativity, our sense of fairness, our sense of solidarity with our ASEAN brethren, and, by all our foreign guests’ account, we got that too! We prayed that our country, our athletes and our guests be spared from violent disruptions that have become hallmarks of this troubled world. And – whew! – we got that too. Kudos to Gen. Rocky Tor and the vigilance of the Philippine National Police.
Who would have thought that we had a world-class swimming and aquatics facility in Los Baños? We got to see first-hand how football-crazy Bacolod is. Dance Sport was just right for the dance-loving folks of Cebu! We almost always never gave La Mesa Dam much attention until we saw that it was perfect for traditional boating competitions.
Multi-venues allowed us sports-crazy Filipinos to get introduced to sports like muay tai, pentak silat, pentanque, sepak takraw and wushu. Now we know Philippine sports isn’t just basketball!
The Southeast Asian Games began in 1959. The ethos behind the games has been to strengthen friendship, solidarity and understanding among all countries in the region. From the initial six nations that started the games, we now have 11 ASEAN countries participating, namely, Brunei, Cambodia, Timor Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Shiela Mae Paez from Davao swam her way from the port of Davao to three gold medals. Nelson Pacalso, a Philippine National Police Academy alumnus, won a gold for the country in karate. Miguel Molina, although studying in the US, came home to bring honor to his country and his countrymen via three golds in swimming. And what about Alex Pagulayan, the Fil-Canadian who had been world champion but decided to come home to don his country’s colors? Alex chose not to join a big-money tournament in the US to play for Team Philippines. During these times when we are thirsting for heroes we can emulate, the 23rd SEA Games gave us a windfall!
Goodwill and camaraderie. We strengthened friendship, solidarity, and understanding among ourselves and among the countries in the region.
It is now time again to prepare for victory in 2007. Learn techniques, tactics and confidence to achieve. Athletes go through a series of training for two minutes of competition!
My daughter Mikee gave an example of resoluteness. A fall did not hamper her intense desire to win. On equestrian champion Toni Leviste’s horse she jumped over high bars with courage. I am not saying courage is exclusive to her. No – just when we fall we must rise up and overcome and live a dream like James Lanza did after 10 years of absence from the equestrian world and Joker Arroyo’s success in two clear rounds for one so young.
The sportsmanship we, as a people, displayed during the just concluded games has brought sportsmanship to a higher level. Despite some undiplomatic utterances from the top officials of Thailand, we chose to be patient and forgiving. This was best seen during the closing ceremonies when we chose to applaud the Thai delegation heartily.
We played fair, we were gracious in winning, more so in losing.
Indeed, we were at our best.