Of heroes and heroines
BANGKOK—There’s a special meaning to Eumir Marcial’s win in the finals of the men’s 80-kilogram division before the curtains fell on the 33rd Southeast Asian Games here.
“This is not for me alone, this is for my country,” Marcial said in Filipino as he became just the only pug to win gold, which he said he was willing to share with the entire PH boxing delegation. “This is also for the Philippine boxing team. This is for all of us.”
Aira Villegas, Jay Brian Baricuatro and Flint Jara all settled for silver medals after taking tough losses from home bets before Marcial took the ring and fought fatigue and Maikhel Muskita of Indonesia for a 4-1 win, averting what would have been a shut out in the medal-rich sport as he contributed to the country’s 50-gold haul that was still way below expectations.
It took one big right that hammered the Indonesian in the final round for the 30-year-old Filipino to win the bout, which was still tied after two rounds.
“I never expected this, because I thought I wouldn’t be able to make the team to here,” Marcial said before carrying the PH flag in lavish closing ceremonies late Saturday night.
Meanwhile, despite the lean medal haul that had the country finishing sixth overall, a slip of a notch from its Cambodia performance in 2023, there were a number of wins that soothed Filipino pride back home.
The Gilas Pilipinas Men brought down Thailand in a hostile setting on Friday night to win the gold that matters for basketball-crazy Philippines.
And then there was the gold the Gilas Women won just a few hours earlier, when the Filipinos hung tough for a 73-70 win also against the home side as the Philippines crowned itself as champ for the third time in the last four Games.
One big reason for that success was the play of Kacey dela Rosa, who emerged as the biggest star of Gilas Women’s road to redemption despite many obstacles.
Not only was coach Patrick Aquino’s team denied two key players due to the implementation of Fiba rules, Gilas was missing its biggest star in Jack Aninam because of club duties overseas as leagues did not take breaks with the SEAG, ironically enough, not recognized as a Fiba event.
“I was pressured at first because it was big shoes to fill,” said Dela Rosa. “But I took it as a challenge.”
Dela Rosa was a standout performer back home for Ateneo, having been UAAP Most Valuable Player on a couple of occasions before she was dislodged in Season 88 by National University’s Karl Pingol, who was also here for the Games.
One double-double after another helped catapult a Gilas team that came not only missing Animam but Ella Fajardo, Stefanie Berberabe and Gabi Bade for various reasons.
Also backed up by another rookie in Sophia Dignadice plus veterans Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos and Khate Castillo, the Gilas Women would defy its own odds to win back the gold it lost two years ago in Cambodia.
Dela Rosa’s performance is expected to not just be a huge boost but a likely indication of her future with Gilas as a prominent part of the rotation.
“I’m not sure what are coach Pat’s plans for me in the future,” she said. “For me, I’ll just give what I can provide for the team.”
