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Within the first full 12 months that sports activities returned to pre-pandemic settings, 2022 produced its fair proportion of drama, heartbreak, and all the things in between.
There was sustained excellence from Hidilyn Diaz, who lastly gained gold on the World Weightlifting Championships, and the Letran Knights, who accomplished a three-peat within the NCAA.
There have been additionally down moments, significantly in boxing the place the Philippines will finish the 12 months with no world champion for the primary time since 2006 as Donnie Nietes, Nonito Donaire, Jerwin Ancajas, and John Riel Casimero all misplaced their belts.
In pool, Carlo Biado did not defend his US Open title after dropping a heartbreaking 10-11 semifinal match in opposition to eventual champion Francisco Sanchez Ruiz.
And within the PBA, the Alaska Aces bid farewell after 36 seasons and 13 championships, ending the run of one of many league’s most beloved franchises.
We additionally mentioned goodbye to Asia’s dash queen Lydia De Vega, one of many nation’s hottest athletes of all time who misplaced her battle with most cancers in August.
There have been, nonetheless, just a few sporting moments that stood out within the Philippine setting in 2022. We picked our prime 5.
Filipinas qualify for the FIFA Ladies’s World Cup
Are you able to consider it? There will probably be a Philippine group in a FIFA World Cup.
The Filipinas achieved what the Azkals are nonetheless making an attempt to do: qualify to play in soccer’s final stage. And so they did so by way of a dramatic penalty shootout with Chinese language Taipei that might put Argentina-France to disgrace.
The Filipinas overcame a 3-2 deficit with goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel making two essential saves whereas changing her personal penalty shot to arrange striker Sarina Bolden for the successful objective that despatched them to New Zealand for the 2023 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup.
5 months later, the Filipinas would cement their standing as a brand new Southeast Asian energy by successful the nation’s first-ever AFF Ladies’s Championship on house soil in entrance of a packed Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Gilas Pilipinas loses the SEA Video games gold and the Web goes loopy
Again within the early Nineties, a Philippine basketball official famously declared that the Philippines can lose all different gold medals within the Southeast Asian Video games, simply not the one for males’s basketball.
“A nationwide tragedy” was how the official described such an occasion ought to it occur once more.
After 33 years, that duly unfolded earlier than a surprised nation’s very eyes as an ill-prepared Philippine group misplaced to Indonesia within the gold medal sport in Hanoi.
It was simply the third time in SEA Video games historical past, and first since 1989, that the Philippines did not win the gold medal within the occasion.
The loss generated a lot on-line vitriol, you’ll have thought that Chot Reyes had set a litter of puppies on hearth. The hate prolonged to the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, the place Reyes was booed mercilessly by a hometown crowd, prompting Jordan Clarkson to name out Filipino followers for his or her “b—s—.”
Alex Eala wins the US Open and offers thanks in Tagalog
The Philippines has by no means been a hotbed for tennis. However if you happen to may vote for one Filipino tennis participant as “most More likely to succeed”, you have to go along with 17-year-old Alex Eala.
Earlier than this 12 months, she was already within the Philippine report books for many junior grand slam doubles titles gained with two. Final September, she added to her trophy assortment by changing into the primary Filipino, male or feminine, to win a grand slam junior singles title by sweeping her approach to the US Open title with out dropping a set.
She additional endeared herself to her countrymen by giving her victory speech in Tagalog. “Buong puso ko itong pinaglaban, hindi lang para sa sarili ko kung hindi para sa kinabukasan ng Pilipinas,” she mentioned by way of tears.
Eala now has her sights set on the seniors circuit, and subsequent month will try to qualify for the primary draw of the Australian Open.
EJ Obiena soars to higher heights
It has been fairly the 12 months for pole vaulter EJ Obiena.
He started 2022 at odds along with his nationwide federation the Philippine Beginner Monitor and Discipline Affiliation (PATAFA) over some supposedly delayed liquidation stories. The feud drew the eye of the Philippine Senate, which held a public listening to to unravel the problem.
Finally, all the things was resolved, and Obiena proceeded to obliterate each private and worldwide data. In Could, he simply gained gold on the Hanoi SEA Video games. Two months later, he grew to become the primary Asian to qualify for the ultimate of the pole vault on the World Athletic Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Not content material with that distinction, he smashed the Asian report by clearing 5.94m to bag the bronze medal, changing into the primary Filipino to medal on the worlds. Then in September, on the Diamond League in Brussels, Obiena shocked world no. 1 and Olympic gold medalist Armand Duplantis, beating him to the gold medal by clearing 5.91m to the Brazilian’s 5.81. Obiena ends the 12 months ranked third on the earth, the one Asian within the prime 20.
JD Cagulangan provides UP its first UAAP title in 36 years
If we have been giving awards for different prime Philippine sports activities moments, then this one checks lots of containers.
Buzzer-beater of the 12 months. Championship sport of the 12 months (it went to time beyond regulation). Celebration of the 12 months. Upset of the 12 months. Hero of the final 36 years.
When JD Cagulangan’s gutsy step-back triple on the buzzer nestled into the web to present the UP Preventing Maroons an unbelievable UAAP championship, it not solely rewarded the college with its first title since 1986, it additionally gave basketball followers a YouTube spotlight that will probably be performed time and again.
Cagulangan waved all people off and referred to as his personal quantity, and his self-confidence finally paid off with a shot for the ages. That they did it in opposition to a seemingly invincible Ateneo Blue Eagles squad that had gained its first 13 video games and was gunning for a fourth straight title made it all of the extra sweeter.
The Blue Eagles would ultimately regain the title seven months later because the league squeezed two seasons into one calendar 12 months, however the Preventing Maroons’ championship was the higher story.
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