(Part 2) Defeat, more than victory, defined what otherwise had been a momentous year in Philippine sports. Funny, but it continues to haunt us as we close a 365-day chapter in local sports. We continue to ask ourselves: “How could that happen?”
AS EXPECTED, our sports pages are teeming with postmortems of the failed Philippine London Olympics campaign and the state of sports in the country. Critiques and analyses are hot topics on the social networks. Sports associations are either vocal or mum about the whole hullabaloo.
It was, to say the least, an eventful 2011 for Philippine sports with NBA superstars, led by Kobe Bryant, and football great David Beckham, showing why they are legends in their respective fields before an adoring Filipino crowd. Of course, Manny Pacquiao continued to dominate the local sports scene, with his victories over Sugar Shane Mosley in May and Juan Manuel Marquez in November. But the Azkals weren’t far behind as they won Filipino fans over not only with their good looks but by playing with their hearts on their jerseys and proving that there’s more to Philippine sports than just basketball.
There’s a cliché going around in Philippine sports today that’s a favorite of coaches and players in interviews.
