Can you imagine life without sports? Headline news without Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao? What will remain are the scandalous details of corruption, killings, bank robberies, prostitutions. All these news are chronicles of human follies and frailties, news that numb the senses instead of lifting the spirits.
When Manny Pacquiao gave boxing lessons to Marco Antonio Barrera, floored on a rematch Erik Morales, and outclassed Oscar de la Hoya, we shouted in jubilation, not so much in celebration of the triumphs of a boxer, but an affirmation of the Filipino spirit, that yes, We can!
In brief fleeting moments, every time Pacman floors his opponent, there is a national amnesia, a time when we forget all the problems, the scandals and the scams. Suddenly, we cast aside our divisions and instead clap as one nation.
For all the bad news in the local scene – the recent flood, the proposed bio-ethanol plant in Mambuaya and Bayanga, the snatching of cell phones in broad daylight – there is a reason for jubilation.
Francis Casey Alcantara catapulted in the tennis world when he won the Doubles Boys Junior Division in the recently concluded Australian Open held last January 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. Champions in this division eventually become tennis greats in the mold of Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, and Roger Federer.
Still 16 years old, he ranks 29th in the world in 18-under category. He is already playing against fully-muscled behemoths from other countries. Nino, as he is fondly called, is the first Filipino to bag a champion trophy in a tennis grand slam event. At the age of 16, he played against the world’s best. Essaying his tennis skills and mental toughness, the pair of Australians who was eventual runner-up, exclaimed: “Where did this kid learn his tennis?”
The world, Philippines, and Cagayan in particular, when the news was flashed in the internet and in cable television, wondered, where indeed this kid learned his tennis?
Unknown to many, Nino was born, raised, educated, and honed his tennis in Nazareth, this city. At the early age of five, he had his tennis lessons in Nazareth Lawn Tennis courts. He played against ball boys, and club players; while his competitors are trained in tennis academies. Even without intensive training, he displayed a flair for the sports.
He is a trailblazer in Philippine junior tennis circuit. At the age of ten, he was the most feared player whenever he played in Manila. Tennis players in the national capital who were under intensive training program were no match to the wonder kid from Cagayan de Oro. He lorded over in the national scene. At the age of twelve, he was already champion in Asia in the 12-under category, later 14-under category. He won in Malaysia, Australia, and other parts of the globe.
Nino’s road to success has never been easy. He has been a victim of Imperial Manila. There were several times when officials of the Philippine Tennis Association would inform him of the incoming tournament a day before the schedule to make his participation difficult, ostensibly to favor their own talents.
The tennis campaign outside the country has drained the resources his relatives could chip-in. Tennis aficionados, notably members of the Nazareth Lawn Tennis Club, and few philanthropists helped in their own way. Sorely absent was the support from the local officials whose sports they only know is perhaps snake and ladder.
Among politicians, anonymous talents yet do not deserve a penny. They do not boost the politicians’ popularity. In their road to success, sports heroes have been orphans. But wait till they become famous, when suddenly, their success will be claimed by many fathers.
Sports’ heroes and their exploits are shots in the arm in the otherwise lethargic national scene. They are welcome shots, a balm to massage our national psyche. They have the effect of energizing the citizens, of lifting their spirits. For these and more, we owe our salute to them.
The Filipino community in Australia reportedly took leave of absences to watch the championship match, to cheer on their compatriot. Overnight, Nino was their hero. As Cagayanons, the least we can do is cheer as he raises his trophy.
To Nino, you made as proud as a nation and particularly as Cagayanons.
