Marites Bitbit?s Tragic SEA Games Tale
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 16 Dec 2009
When rider Marites Bitbit joined the trip to Laos her target was to win the gold medals in the three events she was entered.
Never mind if she was with a team under a Philcycling group recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee and not the faction where she belonged.
??sa lang naman ang layon naming lahat pagpunta doon. Ang dalhin ang banderang Pilipinas at bigyan ng karangalan ang bansa, ? she told this writer when chanced upon days before the national delegation left for Vientiane, sit of the on-going 25th Southeast Asian Games.
To her horror, however, her teammates were barred from participating in all the races for not having license issued by the International Cycling Union, which recognizes the Philcycling side headed by Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham ?Bambol? Tolentino.
Meaning she had to ride all by her lonesome in the events she was entered ? the individual road race where she was the defending champion, individual time trial and cross country of mountain bike discipline, both of which she brought home a bronze medal each two years ago.
Unmindful of the odds, she went to the cross country races venue, bringing with her her UCI license and other papers issued by Tolentino?s Philcycling that would prove she was qualified to race, unlike her teammates.
But again, to her horror, she was not allowed to take part for reason that the POC, acting on a decision arrived at a day before, had already submitted a letter addressed to the race technical committee pulling out the entire Philippine cycling team.
?Nakiusap ako kay Mr. Wahab (SEA Cycling Federation head Abdul Wahab) na payagan ako dahil may lisensya ako at qualaified na mglaro,? she said in a radio interview. ?Pero ayaw talaga ako payagan, kasi opisyal na raw na wala na ang team.?
Bitbit said she went to POC president to appeal her case to no avail.
?Pursigido talaga akong lumaban. Defending champion ako sa road race at malaki ang pag-asa ko sac cross country dahil yung tumalo sa akin sa Thailand, wala na, pero hindi ako pinayagan. Kung ano-ano pa ang sinabi ni Cong (Cojuangco) sa akin na hindi ko masasabi ditto,? Bitbit said as she stzreted crying over the phone.
?Sabi ni Cong, kung lalaro daw ako, magiging ?hudas? ako ?traydor? kasi napagkasunduan na dawn g team at opisyal na i-withdraw ang buong team. Naiyaak ako talaga. Masakit yun.? she recalled.
?Sabi ko, hindi ako traydor kasi ginagawa ko ito para sa bayan, sa pamilya ko at sa sarili ko. Napakasakit ang naramdaman ko, kasi wala man lang kumampi sa akin. Nagiisa ako noon,? she said.
In a separate telephone interview Friday during thew SCOOP Sa Kamayan session, Bitbit said at over 30, she felt this year?s Games could be her last and that it could have been a glorious exit had she competed and swept the three gold medals at stake in her events.
And what made her experience a bitter pill to swallow is that the people tasked with guiding her do the right things in the exercise of her athletic career were the ones who deprived her of a chance to do service to her country for the last time.
(Eddie Alinea?s articles also appear in the Philippine Gazette)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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