BEIJING, China—In a humid and sweltering afternoon of Beijing’s summer, the sun shines a little less brightly on one corner of the Olympic Village.

The organizers of the 29th Olympiad call this a “dream world,” but the Olympic dream has turned into a nightmare for the Philippines.

Limp and a little less proud, its flag hangs from the seventh floor balcony of the building it shares with a couple of smaller delegations.

What looks like a fortress from the outside is a sprawling complex that is the athletes’ village.

It is crawling with winners and losers still in track suits. The walking wounded are in crutches and slings. The volume of food at the main restaurant is probably half of what it was a week earlier. And it’s a little less crowded now.

A row of small Philippine flags leads the visitor off to the well-manicured garden pathway into one of the buildings in this cluster, home of the Filipino athletes in the village.

Olympic disaster

A day after taekwondo hope Mary Antoinette Rivero dropped the Philippine banner to complete the biggest Olympic disaster for the country since Munich in 1972 and a day before the closing ceremonies, the Philippine quarters is virtually deserted, except for a few officials and coaches.

Most of the 15 athletes, delegation officials and coaches are out. No one is seen licking his or her wounds. Some, like boxer Harry Tañamor, have gone home, unable to linger at the scene of his biggest disappointment. Others are probably shopping and sightseeing, the only things left to do these days in Beijing.

Left to man the quarters is the delegation’s administrative chief, Mauricio “Moying” Martelino, who offers the visitor a tour of the place, and a handful of coaches and staffers.

Also around is wushu’s Julian Camacho, perhaps the only official in the team holding his head high. His is the only team with a medal, but alas, the sport is part only of the cultural calendar of the Beijing Olympics and the medals will not be counted in the official tally.

Chief of mission Monico Puentevella is not around and could not be reached by phone. Professional boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, the man who robbed true-blue Olympian Miguel Molina of the honor of carrying the Philippine tricolor in the opening ceremonies, has long gone home.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco is out too, but he was gracious enough to give the Inquirer, over the phone from the Bird’s Nest where he watched defending champion Argentina win the football gold, his assessment of the Philippine debacle. And he was not so disheartened by the shutout.

’Performed creditably’

“I think our athletes performed creditably,” Cojuangco said. “Our swimmers broke their own national records. And in some events, like taekwondo, archery, and even shooting it was a matter of not getting the breaks.”

“Basically, it’s the Olympic pressure. Under this situation, we were not able to get the edge,” he lamented.

Cojuangco, who took over the helm of the POC shortly after the Athens Olympics where the Filipinos won a few matches and managed to advance just short of the medal rounds, said that while he has his own assessment of what went wrong in Beijing, he would rather keep it to himself for now.

“I would rather make a conclusive appraisal after I hear from the others,” he said.

The others include the heads of the national sports associations who sent athletes to Beijing and drew a big fat Zero.

“We have to sit down and compare notes. I have my own opinion, but the NSAs may have their own appraisal,” Cojuangco said.

Still, the POC leader was willing to give the Filipino athletes an A for effort.

“Let’s give our athletes all the praises they deserve. They did not disappoint us. Nagpakita naman sila,” he said.

Today, the curtain rings down on Beijing’s big show. It’s China’s dream come true.

Miguel Molina, who had put his life on hold for four years to get to this moment, finally gets his chance to carry the Philippine flag.

Another Olympics is over and it’s back to square one for Philippine sports.