
Maxine is not the first
FENCER Maxine Esteban is in the news now and here is why.
She has decided to switch nationalities, exchanging her Filipino citizenship for an Ivory Coast one and I can understand her reasons.
As an athlete, like anyone else, the dream is to compete in the Olympic Games, in this case, the target is the Paris Olympiad set next year in France.
Maxine is the highest ranked national fencer but even as such, possibilities of her reaching the Olympics as a Filipina are not bright at all.
Fencing is not a mainstream sports and lacks recognition and support , including corporate sponsorship, to enable someone from that sport to go all the way to the Olympics, possible but not probable I would put it.
I am not sure how the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), headed by President Bambol Tolentino, will decide on her request letter for a clearance but then, can the POC really, I mean legally
But then she is not alone in this kind of situation.
Volleyball standout Jaja Santiago has reportedly agreed to become a Japanese citizen to qualify her for that country’s national team, ranked in the top 3 in the world.
She has the skills to compete with the world’s best at the Olympics.
But again, being a Filipina, she will not get a chance as we will not qualify at the elite level, we cannot even do a podium finish at the SEA Games level, much more at the Asian level, never mind the world level.
Golfer Yuka Saso also opted to become Japanese, more understandably, her father is a Japanese.
To be able to compete regularly in the international level, all the way to the lucrative professional league, you need to hone your talents abroad, not here.
We all know you can only get better when you compete against better athletes.
Jaja is a perfect example of that.
A few years ago, world class chess player Wesley So decided to stay for good in the United States as a result of his feeling that he has not been getting the recognition and support due him for his exploits abroad.
And in the same breath, he cannot get better here, nor make a living out of his chess talents.
Now he plays for the good old USA, home for a lot of naturalized athletes.
Would you believe even Muslim equestrienne Toni Leviste was once offered by Qatar I believe, to become a Qatari and join its national equestrian team, an opportunity she turned down.
By the way, she is based more in the United States than here and still competes regularly in the European and American circuits.
Even current coach Rensy Bajar was offered Indonesian citizenship after he received the MVP award in the Indonesian Basketball League, which at that time was importing Filipino basketball talents way ahead of Japan and Korea.
I will not be surprised at all if our Blu Girls in the past have been sounded out by Brunei to change citizenship.
Our male and female softball players were also regular imports in Brunei then.
And you know the irony of it all, we all dream of producing world class athletes who can compete with the best , and when we find them, look what happens, they leave us.
Does that send a message to our sports officials, I hope so.
LOOSE CHANGE– Denver took Game 1 against Miami in the NBA Finals, my money is on the Nuggets, my heart is with the Heat, no sweep here, that I am sure … Our para athletes plunged into action starting yesterday at the 12th ASEAN ParaGames, my bet, from 28 golds last year in Indonesia, we will be good for 35 to 40 this time, it is their turn to shine … Just got the news, good and bad, Caloy Loyzaga finally made it in the FIBA Hall of Fame, long overdue I believe, and was joined by Chito Calvo, thanks to colleague Ignacio Dee, the bad news, Levi Castillo of the Milo Marathon in the 80’s just passed away… By the way I started my first radio co-hosting last May 29 in DWBL, together with veteran Teddy Perena at his OKS talk show, our guest was billiards champion Rubilen Amit. I will be on board every last Monday of the month. By Lito Cinco
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