Unlike previous announcements, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas recently named the 14-man Team Pilipinas pool for the do-or-die last window of the Fiba Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers scheduled this February without much fanfare. It didn’t matter that it will mark the respective comebacks of naturalized player Andray Blatche and former Smart Gilas member Mark Barroca; that the likes of five-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo and top sharpshooter Marcio Lassiter are available; that they will be headed by fiery coach Yeng Guiao—fans have noticeably been caring less about what happens to the Philippine men’s national basketball team, except maybe for the clamor to include Terrence Romeo in the lineup.
Who can blame them? Outside of a couple of moral victories (most notably breaking the Korean curse in 2013 and that hype-inducing 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup run), our foray in international hoops, with our battlecry puso, has in fact given us more heartbreak and false hopes. Even when Filipino-American NBA player Jordan Clarkson made his highly anticipated debut in the 2018 Asian Games, PH could only muster a fifth-place finish, albeit its best in 16 years.
Last December, the “best national team ever”—at least according to ex-Gilas mentor Rajko Toroman—lost to both Kazakhstan and Iran, which is why it’s currently in a make-or-break position. Don’t even get us started on that infamous game against Australia last year…
Perhaps it’s time to turn our focus to another sport where we can achieve global recognition. Basketball is in every Pinoy’s DNA, sure, but we’re a few years away from competing at a continental level, more so in the world stage (Read: Gilas Cadets program).
One could argue that boxing and golf deserve a lot of attention, considering the former’s history of success (three Olympic bronze medals and two silver) and the latter’s recent wins in the 2018 Asiad (Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdaganan).
But if we hope to capture that elusive Olympic golden dream the soonest, we don’t have to look far, specifically the country’s last podium finish in the prestigious sporting event.
The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games was where Hidilyn Diaz skyrocketed as a weightlifting superstar. The then-24-year-old lifted her way into a silver chip in the women’s 53-kg weight division, ending the PH’s two-decade Olympic drought and becoming the first Filipina to secure such medal of any color. She followed it through by coming out on top of the same category at the Asiad, leading the gold medal haul of the Philippines’ female contingent.
Now 27 and the stars aligning for her, Diaz, who is ranked No. 1 senior by the International Weightlifting Federation (snatch 92, clean and jerk 115), has zeroed in on the 2020 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Tokyo, Japan.
In terms of rivals, it seems the gold is Diaz’s for the taking. Hsu Shu-ching of Chinese Taipei, who beat Diaz for the 53-kg gold in the 2016 Olympics, has reportedly retired due to injuries from the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships. Thai Olympic gold medalist Sopita Tanasan (48-kg) wound up fifth place after she competed in Diaz’s division at the 2018 Asiad. Turkmenistan’s Kristina Shermetova, who fell short of an Asiad gold at the hands of Diaz, might be the latter’s biggest hurdle, but she has been quoted as saying she has the advantage over the Turkmen, particularly in the clean and jerk event.
Back in September last year, Diaz called for changes in the national governing body for weightlifting in a letter to the Philippine Sports Commission. Just when the situation looked like it was going to be a distraction to her looming Olympic campaign, it was shortly confirmed that Diaz and Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella have already made up and are currently gearing for the six qualifying World Weightlifting competitions before the 2020 Games. She will be joined by long-time coach Antonio Agustin and her core team of Chinese coach Gao Kaiwen, a nutritionist, sports psychologist, strength and conditioning trainer, and physical therapist.
Earlier this month, Diaz shared that she will train with the national weightlifting team in China for two months, from February 10 to April 10. This is to get ready for the second Tokyo Olympics qualifying tournament in Ningbo.
She finished 10th during the first one last November in Turkmenistan, and is aiming for the Top 3. “Every six months there is a ranking, and I think it’s doable for me to finish in the top eight. This is a process that I should go through, and also builds strength and patience on my part during training,” Diaz told The Manila Bulletin.
With the country’s Olympic gold medal hopes resting on her broad shoulders, both literally and figuratively, Diaz will need all the strength and explosion that she could muster.