SPORTS in Philippine Daily Inquirer

 

September 29, 2023

Alex Eala "bronzed" herself in her first Asiad.  (Pool photo)

Hey there sports fan, The Asian Games is upon us and the Philippines is again in the hunt for medals in the international arena. It's not going to be easy. So far, our best finish as of this writing is a silver medal from Arnel Mandal, who lost to China's Jiang Haidong in the final of wushu's sanda event.  Things have been going sideways thus far with bets the country was pinning its gold medal hopes on. Margielyn Didal, feeling the effects of her surgically-repaired ankle, surrendered her street skateboard crown. Kayla Noelle Sanchez, the Olympic medalist from Canada who switched federations to represent her parents' home country, failed in her bid to win a medal in the individual swimming events. But there's reason to be optimistic. Alex Eala, at 18 and playing in her first Asian Games, won a bronze medal in wimen's singles, ending a medal drought for the country in the sport that has lasted nearly two decades. Do you know who won bronze medals in tennis for the country in 2006? The answer to that trivia question later on.   Also competing in the Asian Games is the Philippine men's basketball team, which is currently being handled by coach Tim Cone. The team is currently at 2-0, with a big game against fellow unbeaten squad Jordan coming up.  The other gold hopefuls are also still about to compete. EJ Obiena, the pole vault star, and Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, the Olympic gold medalist, have yet to see action, while the national boxing squad has done well so far after a round of competitions.

So you'll know where to get your Asian Games fix. (Marlo Cueto)

Meanwhile... There's a lot of great stories going on in the continental Olympics. Just check out our Asian Games archives for stories like China's youngest athlete, at 13, striking gold in front of her home fans. Or, you can also check out our live updates page.  You'll get latebreakers, too, like the Filipinas advancing to the quarterfinals after a 3-0 victory over Myanmar and getting favorable results in other games.  What we're up to next: We'll be pretty much occupied with our coverage of the Asian Games so that's something that we will be devoting our efforts to. We have guys on ground both in China and here in the country making sure we have all bases covered so keep it here with us across all our platforms!  Number of the Week: 9 Age of the Philippines' youngest athlete, Mazel Alegado, who competes in skateboard.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “He’s playing through [the pain] for only one reason: [because] he’s on the national team.” —Germany coach Tim Cone, on Justin Brownlee, who is playing hurt for the Philippines in the Asian Games.

Answer to trivia question above: Cecil Mamiit won an individual bronze in tennis and 2006 and joined hands with Eric Taino for another bronze in men's doubles. THose bronze medals were the last won by the country in tennis until Eala's recent feat. If you got the answer to the above trivia question right, go ahead and give the other questions in our weekly sports quiz a shot. Check them out in our Viber community, which also features the freshest sports updates.  Buy the Inquirer at newsstands, subscribe to our digital edition, Inquirer Plus, visit our online site and follow us on socials (Twitter: @inquirersports; FB: facebook.com/inquirersports) for more stories and updates—or to send us questions or suggestions of stories you'd want to read. Have a great and safe weekend! See you next Friday. Francis Francis T. J. Ochoa is the Sports Editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. For comments, suggestions and questions, hit him up on Twitter (@ftjochoaINQ).

SPORTS in Philippine Daily Inquirer

 

July 28, 2023

A powerful header from Sarina Bolder took New Zealand's keeper out of the picture.  (Reuters)

Hey there sports fan, If someone told you a week ago that on the third match day of the Philippine women's football team in the Fifa Women's World Cup, the squad would still be playing for something, you might have laughed. Or, if you agreed, it would be based on pure optimism and blind faith more than anything else. After all, the Filipinas are the lowest-ranked squad in Group A and are playing in the sport's biggest stage for the first time. And yet, here we are.  When the team battles Norway on Sunday, the team will be battling for a spot in the last 16. This gutsy group of gals are playing to extrend what has already been a dream stint in front of the eyes of the world.  There were clues scattered all over the loss to Switzerland that the Filipinas are not in New Zealand merely to bask in the World Cup spotlight, a privilege they earned with a dramatic victory over Taiwan in the qualifiers last year. In that 2-0 defeat, the team had the audacity to go out and celebrate the match's first goal, courtesy of a sublime strike by Katrina Guillou.  Yeah, so the offside flag nullified that goal eventually, cutting short the rapture of the team and its supporters. But Guillou firmed up the team's belief that it was capable of magic. And ta-daaa: The Filipinas pulled one memorable rabbit out of the hat. Sarina Bolden converted a pass by Sara Eggesvik into a country's core memory, blasting in a header that knocked down New Zealand's goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead over the tournament cohost. And then, amid a desperate fight by their foes, Olivia McDaniel made sure that the score would hold until the final whistle. That brings us to Sunday. The Philippines will need another epic shocker against a past champion—one groping for form amid injuries and team turmoil, but a powerful squad nevertheless—to qualify to the knockout rounds.  Will they succeed? The smart money is on Norway. It is hard to imagine the Filipinas bringing down such a collection standouts (or even holding them to a draw, which would still allow the Philippine to advance if coupled with a Switzerland win over New Zealand). But then, a week ago, it was difficult to believe too that on its third match day in the World Cup, the national team would still be playing for something. And yet, here we are.

Olivia McDaniel was a lifesaver for the Filipinas. (AFP)

Meanwhile... It's going to be a bit difficult to talk about anything outside of the Women's World Cup. How about a trivia question? Japan scored two goals in the span of two minutes against which World Cup foe? The answer, in a bit.   Also, let me just leave you with this: Remember how, before the tournament started, Filipinas defender Hali Long said the team was playing for more than just match results? The most capped player of the team said the Filipinas wanted to be examples of making dreams come true.   Well, their message is being heeded by young girls who also made their mark on the pitch, more than 17,000 kilometers away from the World Cup floodlights.  What we're up to next: On Sunday, our eyes will be everyone else's will be: On the match between the Philippines and Norway for a spot in the next round. We will have more features and updates straight from New Zealand, where Inquirer's football guru, Jonas Terrado, is currently following the exploits of the country's heroines. Number of the Week: 1-0 A score that will be forever etched in our hearts. Need I say more?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “I’ll remember this moment, forever. For the rest of my life.” —Sarina Bolden, Philippines forward, on her first World Cup goal,and the country's first win on the sport's biggest stage.

The answer to the question above? Costa Rica. There are more trivia questions on our weekly sports quiz which you can access by joining our Viber community, which also featres the freshest sports updates. Fo Buy the Inquirer at newsstands, subscribe to our digital edition, Inquirer Plus, visit our online site and follow us on socials (Twitter: @inquirersports; FB: facebook.com/inquirersports) for more stories and updates—or to send us questions or suggestions of stories you'd want to read. Have a great and safe weekend! See you next Friday. Francis Francis T. J. Ochoa is the Sports Editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. For comments, suggestions and questions, hit him up on Twitter (@ftjochoaINQ).