Sports renaissance

It’s not just Gilas Pilipinas making it to the finals of the FIBA Asia Cup despite being outclassed for the gold medal by China. It’s not just the Azkals consistently putting the Philippines in the world football map.

There is at the moment a renaissance of sort for Philippine sports with the sheer number of basketball, volleyball, tennis, badminton and other tournaments being played out at the moment.

And the crowds are coming back to watch like in the recently concluded UAAP beach volleyball tournament won by De La Salle after defeating Far Eastern U in the finals and bitter rival Ateneo in the knockout semis.

Over at the San Juan gym, top-class volleyball is also being played while at Glorietta 5, right smack in the middle of commercial and business activities in Makati, a badminton national open is in full swing.

Back to volleyball, Alyssa Valdez of Ateneo, the UAAP indoor most valuable player, came short of winning her first beach volley title in her last year of play, while her La Salle counterpart Kim Fajardo bagged a first and last in her graduating year.

Asia’s first play-for-pay league, the Philippine Basketball Association, has also come out in full support of Gilas just at the very moment when PLDT boss man Manny V. Pangilinan had “retired” as head of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BSP). Maybe we can convince MVP to “unretire” himself because we need more sports patrons like him to keep the momentum of Philippine sports going.