Diaz silver-medal conquest in Rio brings Philippines back to Olympic map

By Jesse C. Ong

Finally ending the country’s 20-year medal drought in the Olympics with a silver conquest in the Rio Games, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, no doubt, is the brightest star for Philippine sports for 2016.

Diaz’s feat earned for the Philippines its first medal in weightlifting and the first Olympic medal in two decades since Mansueto “Onyok” Vel­asco won silver medal in box­ing during the Atlanta Games in 1996.

But more importantly, it catapulted the country back to the Olympic map and gener­ated huge interest for weight­lifting, which, in the past, had been overtaken by more pop­ular sports disciplines.

For Diaz’s historic tri­umph in the world stage, not even Manny Pacquiao’s lop­sided victory over Mexican Jessie Vargas in his first fight out of a short-lived retirement could override the female lifter as Philippine sports’ top sports

newsmaker for 2016.

Among other sports news that failed to topple the female lifter’s accomplishment as the year’s major athletic story is the country’s hosting of the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualify­ing Tournament, Jose “Peping” Cojuangco’s winning a fourth term as president of the Phil­ippine Olympic Committee (POC), Barangay Ginebra’s winning the 2016 PBA Gov­ernors’ Cup to end an eight-year title drought and the De La Salle Green Archers’ victory over the Ateneo Blue Eagles to take the 79^th UAAP men’s bas­ketball crown.

The sports pages have also been rocked by the news of deaths of prominent personal­ities like basketball legend Car­los Loyzaga, former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Cecil Hechanova, PBA player Gilbert Bulawan, legendary basketball coach Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan, local baseball and softball legend Filomeno “Boy” Codiñera, and popular sportscaster and sports columnist Ronnie Na­thanielsz.