The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Team Philippines glittered like gold and shone like silver in the Asian Rowing Beach Sprint Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
Emman Pillar bagged the gold in the Under-16 Coastal Men’s Solo while Matt Jugadora pocketed the silver in the Under-19 Coastal Men’s Solo at the Jomtien Beach in Pattay.
On the final day of the competition Sunday, Team Philippines rowed even harder and struck for two more gold medals in the Under-19 Coastal Women’s Double Sculls courtesy of Ayonna Huerto and Khayzie Caviltes; and the Under-16 Coastal Men’s Double Sculls behind Kyle Olano and Pilar.
Philippine Sports Commission chairman and former Philippine Rowing Association president Patrick Gregorio described it as a “stunning, positive development” against Asia’s rowing nations.
Gregorio knows Pillar and Jugadora well because it was under his watch, as the country’s rowing chief, that these young athletes were discovered, nurtured and honed.
“They are the treasures of the Philippine seas,” said Gregorio.
“They are sons of fishermen. They are our grassroots rowers from Ternate, Cavite,” said Gregorio, who as PSC chairman has initiated a massive and nationwide grassroots program for all sports.
Beach sprint rowing is a fast-developing sport, an entirely different format from the traditional rowing since it combines beach running, open-water rowing, buoy turns and sprint racing.
Gregorio said the format fits Filipino rowers because of their “strength, great balance, speed and agility.”
Gregorio, who became head of the government sports agency in July last year, coined the nationwide grassroots program also as envisioned by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as “From Grassroots to Gold. From Gold to Greatness.”
“We are looking at future Olympians in Pillar and Jugadora,” added Gregorio, hoping that these “treasures” from Ternate could join the short list of Filipino rowers to grace the Olympics.
It was Edgardo Maerina who broke the ice in Seoul in 1988, followed by Benjie Tolentino in Sydney in 2000, Cris Nievarez in Tokyo in 2020 and Joanie Delgado in Paris in 2024.
Delgado is the first female rower from the Philippines to qualify for the Olympics.
“She (Delgaco) will not be the last,” said Gregorio, who is providing all-out support to the country’s rowing program as well as other sports where Filipinos can excel on the global stage.
“Look at this beautiful story,” said Gregorio, referring to the feats scored by Philippine rowers.
“They fought hard, navigated the waves perfectly, and sprinted all the way to the buzzer to bring glory to the country,” the PRA said on its Facebook page.
Team Philippines was fully supported by the PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee, MVP Sports Foundation, Smart Sports, Maynilad and Fitpad Fitness made by Madkahuna.
The Philippine rowing team competed in Pattaya with a heavy heart following the passing of PRA chairman Benjamin “Benjie” Ramos, who in 1985 helped shape the future of boating sports in the country.
“We go into this competition heavy-hearted, but deeply committed to honoring his memory and his vision for the sport through our performance on the water,” the team said.