Hail, fearless Azkals, Gilas Pilipinas

It didn’t come as a surprise that the Philippine Azkals met a killing test in its bid to stay alive in the World Cup qualifying duel against highly favored North Korea.

The match in Pyongyang finished with 0-0 score on Thursday; but other than earn a point, while momentarily stalling mighty North Korea which has remained unbeaten in the tournament, the Azkals again made the football world know the fighting heart Filipino heroes have been noted and hailed for.

It was, as Cedelf Tupas of the Inquirer reported from the Kim Il-sung Stadium, a tough and terrible challenge, daunting as only a full-scale war could be.

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The Azkals, tired, had to summon reserves of courage once the North Koreans made an all-out push for a goal, while defenders on the Azkal flank started to suffer cramps in the second half.

Their legs were starting to give in but, at that deathly moment, the Azkals sprang with enviable pride, courage and determination. They refused to be shaken a bit.

Well, the North Koreans by now should have realized the kind of heart that carried the Azkals through one of its greatest tests.

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It’s the same tested fearlessness, the unshakeable Filipino spirit that pumped and carried the supporting Philippine forces, starring the great Col. Boni Serrano, in its campaign in the Korean war in the mid-’50s.

To those who have not been told, the late Sen. Benigno Aquino also figured in that war as a correspondent for the Manila Times.

Ninoy Aquino would much later immortalize and enshrine his in-born heroism by coming home from exile in the United States in a noble, fearless bid to save his country from total ruin and the godless greedy grip of a hated dictator.

It was not a simple brand of courage, but a selfless and sublime one, that led the martyred Ninoy Aquino to come home, all the while knowing his life could be taken away by an assassin.

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Outgunned, but never outfought. This should aptly label the blazing campaign of the Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team in the Fiba Asia championship in China.

It would be grossly unfair to suspect the Gilas team had played a shaky brand of basketball in the final quarter, the reason they flubbed shot after shot at crunch time against China.

The Gilas players, in fact, had to be shielded from a boisterous abusive crowd, which was definitely intrigued by the determination of the Filipinos, who had refused to budge despite the terrible odds.

Mauled by biased officiating, threatened, harassed and cursed by a pernicious Chinese crowd, the Filipinos fought as one, refusing to be blown off the court until the finish.

Gilas coach Tab Baldwin would meekly admit they failed to measure up on the floor. But he was quick to swear he would be ready to wage war anytime, anywhere, hand-in-hand with a breed of fearless fighters like Gilas Pilipinas.