MANILA, Philippines—On the first working day of 2009, expect everybody to be bristling with excitement to start the New Year with a bang.

It’s not about resolutions, or that we’ve spent most of our holiday money and are eager to recoup. It’s just that, despite everything that has happened in the previous year, we are blessed with optimism that allows us to look ahead to a better or greater year.

With the same optimism, sports organizations will be looking forward to a banner year of finding talented athletes, larger audiences, better sponsorship deals and decisive wins in international competitions. Athletes will be raring to defend titles or avenge the losses of 2008.

Just like everybody else, though, we should manage our expectations. Resolutions to do better in sports are fine but they must be tempered by reality and present capabilities. Many of our activities like funding, training, foreign and local competitions and sponsorship packages will be adversely affected by last year’s economic crunch.

And yet, in the face of all this adversity, opportunities could give us a banner year in sports.

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By all means, we should go for the top spot in the medal tally of the Southeast Asian Games in Laos next year.

But we should look at being in our competitive best in the events we will participate in, improving times and distances in games where these matter. There will be fewer events in Laos given the country’s limited sports facilities and it should be interesting to see what kind of Team Philippines we will form.

The performances in the SEA Games must be targeted on the Asian Games in the Chinese city of Guangzhou in 2010. The level of competition is definitely much higher in the Asiad and we must see how we can build on whatever we achieve in the SEA Games.

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The initial efforts and passion of the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas have rewarded the country the 1st China-Seaba CBO Invitational Tournament title at the expense of a Chinese squad. But this is only the beginning of a long journey back to our premier spot in Asian basketball and SBP officials are cognizant of this.

What’s gratifying now is that a program is in place that should complement the contributions of leagues like the PBA and the PBL.

The best way to have a chance to beat China and South Korea in basketball competitions is by playing against them on a regular basis. We will never be able to stop them if we meet them only every two or four years.

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Manny Pacquiao should have no problem with a banner year.

A showdown with Ricky Hatton is a guaranteed blockbuster. And if Pacquiao manages to get Floyd Mayweather Jr. out of retirement, then boxing fans will have so much to look forward to in 2009.

Pacquiao’s win against Oscar De La Hoya has given us the confidence that Pacman can win against bigger and heavier opponents.

There will be some anxiety in the Hatton or Mayweather fights but trust Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach to come up with a sure-fire strategy, just as they did in stopping De La Hoya.

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So as the year winds down, scribble a few notes on what you want to achieve in 2009.

But let the year come to you, too. Banner years come with preparation, a lot of prayers and with knowing when to adjust your sails when the wind and water change. May we all have a banner year in sports in 2009.