Gacad: Move on...
REMEMBER when Philippine national men’s basketball team coach Chot Reyes apologized to the Filipino fans after Gilas Pilipinas fell short in its 77-73 loss to Puerto Rico in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Seville, Spain? The loss virtually ended all hopes for Gilas Pilipinas to move to the round of 16. In its last game however, Gilas defeated Senegal in overtime to give the country its first victory at the FIBA World Cup in 40 years. The win was the Philippines’ first at the World Cup since July 12, 1974 when they defeated Central African Republic 87-86. That was one win for the books and one that we all celebrated. The country's (expected) placing in this tournament sparked the emergence of instant expert coaches who were very quick to criticize Coach Chot and give out unsolicited expert advice of what may have been if . . .
Here comes the 65th Miss Universe Pageant won by Miss Universe France Iris Mittenaere, who beat 85 other contestants that competed in the pageant held here in the Philippines. Our very own bet Maria Maica Maxine Medina wound up in the top six but unfortunately failed to make it to the final three. Guess what? The experts have once again resurfaced now in the guise of beauty pageant consultants and gurus.
What is posted, texted, circulated, etc. is the use of english vs. tagalog in the Q&A. Why can't we learn to be happy for others instead of focusing only on the what ifs . . .
The internet and social media are now full of "expert" (kuno) comments about what happened in the recent Miss U pageant and it seems a lot still cannot move on. What Maxine accomplished is something that we as a nation should be proud. I didn't like her answer in the Q&A but i'll borrow some of her words to be used in the context of us becoming a united country . . . "as one nation, we are together." And we should be!
Whether its Roger over Rafa, Ginebra over NLEX, BCBC over Philex, the Cavs over the Warriors, or what have you, remember that everyone can still be winners and champions. Not everyone may hold the championship trophy, but the journey and the game itself, when played true to its meaning and true to ourselves, makes us winners and champs in our own right!
Congratulations to the newly crowned Miss Universe Iris Mittenaere of France for your victory. Congratulations to our Maxine Medina for your "victory," as well. It would have been sweeter if we achieved the back-to-back but that's all right. We're good where we are and we can only get better.
"But one thing I learned in life when you make a mistake, you just gotta keep on moving forward, man, that's all. You just gotta get up and go again!" ~ Steve Harvey