The Philippine Online Chronicles

After 10 days of competition, the 2011 SEA Games formally ended last November 22. As expected, host-nation Indonesia ran away with the championship, with a total haul of 476 medals (182 gold medals). Thailand placed second while Vietnam snatched third place.

The Philippines on the other hand, finished in sixth place with 36 gold medals, 56 silver medals, and 77 bronze medals. The Philippines managed to get only 7.4 percent of the total gold medals available in what has become the country's worst finish in 10 years. In the 2009 SEA Games, the Philippines ended in fifth place, taking home 10.26 percent of the total gold medals that were up for grabs.

It is interesting to note that ever since the country topped the biennial event back in 2005, the Philippines’ ranking has languished between the fifth and sixth spots. Prior to the 2005 SEA Games that the Philippines also hosted, the country finished in fourth place in 2003, sixth in 2001, and fifth in 1999.

In the last six editions of the Southeast Asian Games, the Philippines was only able to break into the top three once. For a country that has performed very well in the said biennial event in the past, the continuous downfall of the country ranking is alarming.

The good and the bad

One of the biggest stories of this year’s SEA Games was that the Philippine swimming team failed to win a single gold meda.

Six years ago, the swimming team brought home four gold medals. Two years later, the squad won eight. The Philippine swimming team’s failure to win a single gold medal can be attributed to the retirement of Olympian Miguel Molina and the absence of Daniel Coakley.

Aside from the swimming team, the Philippine Track and Field team only managed to win two gold medals, which is a far cry from the seven gold medals that the team won two years ago in Vientiane, Laos.

The Philippine Under-23 football team’s performance was also a total disappointment for anyone who has been following the emergence of football in the country. Although the team won a scintillating match against Laos, they lost the last two matches against Myanmar and Brunei, eliminating them from the competition.

There is no doubt that these Filipino athletes did their best to bring honor and glory to the country, but with a measly output, somebody should definitely be accountable.

Fortunately, boxing, taekwondo, and billiards provided a total of 11 gold medals for the Philippine contingent. Team sports such as basketball, softball, and baseball also bagged one gold medal each. Softball and baseball won the championships in the SEA Games without much government support.

2011 SEA Games Medal Tally

The improvement of other countries

In the past, the Philippines only needed to worry about Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia when it came to overall rankings. Since the 2000s however, Vietnam and Singapore have become strong contenders in the biennial event.

For example, Vietnam has outranked the Philippines in five out of the last six editions of the SEA Games. The only time that the country had a ranking higher than Vietnam was in 2005m when the biennial event was held in the Philippines.

Singapore on the other hand, spends the equivalent of P4.8 billion for its sports programs. In comparison, the Philippines spends P600 million a year. With the disparity of the two countries when it comes to spending in sports, it’s not surprising that Singapore has already leapfrogged the Philippines in international competitions.

Not only that, Singapore has already tapped the services of foreign coaches to further improve the performance of their athletes in international competitions.

The blame game

After every international competition, the blame game starts between the country’s sports agencies. To be clear, The Philippine Olympic Committee is the highest governing body of amateur sports while the Philippine Sports Commission is the number one authority in sports.

Both the POC and PSC are clamoring for a bigger budget to build better training facilities for Filipino athletes. Additional funding would also give the country’s sports agencies the ability to hire foreign coaches and trainers.

Other sports such as taekwondo and basketball are being sponsored by business tycoon Manny Pangilinan so it’s no wonder that both bagged gold medals during the SEA Games.

But while money is a big factor in determining a country’s success in the international field, former POC president Cristy Ramos believes that lack of funding has merely become a convenient scapegoat each time the Philippines performs poorly.

Ramos thinks that it’s time for different NSAs in the country to start looking for sponsors by making effective marketing plans. By finding corporate sponsors for various national teams, funding problems, which have plagued Philippine sports for decades, would be somewhat resolved.

No NSA chief would take full responsibility for the dismal showing of the Philippines in this year’s SEA Games.

The truth is, Filipino athletes sacrifice a lot, trying their best to bring honor to our country even with minimal government support. Then again, lack of facilities, world-class training, and funding really put the country’s athletes at a huge disadvantage.

It’s the sad state of Philippine sports and unless the country starts developing a solid grassroots program while getting the right sponsors, the country’s standing in international competition will continue to struggle.

“23^rd SEA Games Closing” by Gerald Yuvallos c/o Flickr. Some rights reserved.