NO HERO?S WELCOME FOR SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES WINNING TEAM
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 27 Aug 2012
MANILA (PNA) -- ?Nang umalis kami sa Maynila, kulang kami sa pera, nang dumating kaming champion, kulang sa pansin" (When we left Manila, we lacked money, when we returned as champion, we lacked attention).
This was how Manila Councilor and Manila Little League Charter president Che Borromeo described, albeit jestingly, his Team Manila?s experience in going back to the country after bringing home the Big League World Series championship trophy for girls softball for 16-18 age bracket.
?We were very happy boarding the plane going back home from Los Angeles, pero pagdating namin dito ni wala man lang sumalubong from both the government?s ruling body in sports and the private sectors,? Borromeo recalled during Friday?s SCOOP Sa Kamayan session .
?Nakakalungkot, di ba, especially considering that the team served as the saving grace for the country?s debacle in the recent Olympic Games,? Borromeo told his audience during the session, sponsored by Powerade AKTV and FILA.
The Manila councilor, representing the city?s fifth district in the council, attributed though their sad experience from the fact that, by coincidence, the day the world champions Manila Golden Girls arrived, happened on the same day the plane bringing DILG Sercretary Robredo disappeared on its way to Naga city.
Baseball/Softball great Filomeno ?Boy? Codinera, the man Borromeo succeeded as Manila charter president, for his part , said that was no excuse for the sports leaders not to organize a welcome rites to a team chat brought home a world championship.
?Wala namang pakialam at Philippine Sports Commission at ang Philippine Olympic Committee sa rescue operations na ginawa ng gobiyerno para matagpuan ang eroplanong sinakyan ni Sec. Robredo,? Codinera, who was also at the SCOOP forum, lamented.
?The least our sports leaders, or even the national government, could have done was to send a representative each to represent them in the homecoming rites at the airport,? Codinera said.
The team left to the tournament destination in Kalamazooo, Michigan, with only 10 players ? Rizza Bernardino, Glesyl Opjer, Michelle Lentija, Gene Joy Parilla, Queeny Sabobo,Baaby Jane Raro and Krisna Paguican, all of UAAP champion Adamson, Kristine Joy Lacupa and Charmaine Oria of Santo Tomas and Mary Joy Floranza of Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Left for lack of funds were Maria Luna Amparo of UST, Mar jane Pabellar and Andrea Mae Gonzales, both of Adamson, as well as assitant coach Cherrylou Valenzuela.
Told by coach Ana Santiago that it will be impossible to win even a game with only one substitute, Borromeo scrounged for funds to be able to send the three players, who arrived in Kalamazoo on the day of Manilenyas? opening day doubleheader, which they lost.
?Pagkatapos ng talo namin, miniting ko ang mga players at nag-heart-to-heart talk kami. Sabi ko, sa dami ng hirap na pinagdaanan natin, praktis araw-araw tapos naiwan pa ang tatlong player, kailangan talunin na nating lahat ng sunod na laban para pumasok man lamang sa final,? Santiago reminisced.
?Happily, the girls responded by winning all our remaining games, including the title playoff against Westminster of Los Angeles, which incidentally, dealt us one of our earlier defeats,? Santiago told members of the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines.
?Puso lang talaga. Puso ng Pilipino ang nagdala sa amin sa championship,? Santiago added. ?Alam ba ninyo na ni walang isang sentimong allowance natanggap ang mga bata sa entire duration of the tournament?
For Codinera, the Manilenyas? world championship triumph is the culmination of more than a decade program jointly initiated in the early 2001 by the Manila Sportws Councilk then headed by Ali Atienza, engineer Robert Evangelista, Borromeo and himself.
?Salamat sa Filipino community doon at nakkakain kami ng maayos. Ang mga miyembro ng Filipino community nagdala ng pagkain araw-araw as otel na tinitirhan namin kaya in a way, may laman ang tiyan namin sa laban kahit walang laman anxg bulsa,? she related.
Santiago said the Filipino community in Kalamazoo, as well as in its adjacent towns and cities, gave the team a reception before they left for Los Angeles.
?Sa Los Angeles naman, where we stayed for one week, inampon kami ng mga alumni ng Adamson. Pinakain kami araw-araw at ipinasyal sa tourists spots like Disneyland and Universal Studios,? Santiago said.
?That made the girls very happy as they totally forgot their sad experience going to the World Series. Di naman kami masyadong nalungkot nang walang sumalubong. Eh ganun naman talaga dito sa atin,? she bewailed.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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