WHILE everyone was devastated by the pandemic, some are thriving on it as if it's their time to shine.
The bashers and keyboard warriors are once again alive and are relentless in throwing comments and criticisms as if they are experts and experienced in the field they are putting their nose into.
Recently, four warriors of the fabled Team Lakay competed in One Championship’s Inside the Matrix multi-event held in Singapore.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) icon Eduard Folayang first saw action on October 31 against Antonio Caruso but fell short of a win.
Kevin Belingon and Lito Adiwang followed suit and suffered the same fate, losing to former UFC fighter John Lineker and Hiroba Minowa, respectively.
Geje Eustaquio was fortunate after defeating Song Min Jong via unanimous decision.
As many have pointed out, not scoring a win does not discount the great performance that Team Lakay showed during the event and as always, win or lose, the team is back to the drawing boards to sort and plan for the next battle as Coach Mark Sangiao would always lament after events.
Then comes out the keyboard warriors, asking for Folayang to retire, commenting on what lacks in the fights of Adiwang and Belingon.
These bashers also showed their discontent with the win of Eustaquio.
So, did Team Lakay really lose? Yes, they did! Did they fail? In an aspect, yes. Technically, no!
We can critic, we can seem to expertly assess what happened, we can critic what needs and what has to be done.
But we cannot deny the fact that Team Lakay are championing more than getting the win. They have already proved that they are capable after winning five championship belts, four from One Championship and one from Brave Combat Federation (CF) Folayang and Joshua Pacio became a two-time world champion, while Belingon and Eustaquio also held the bantamweight and flyweight titles, respectively.
Honorio Banario was the first Filipino MMA world champion, winning the inaugural ONE featherweight crown.
Not to be outdone, Stephen Loman is the longest-reigning Brave CF world bantamweight champion.
For a career that requires hard work, perseverance and sacrifice, remaining in the game and having the will and the fortitude to work hard like you are a young lad is a win more than the victory in the fight.
As Team Lakay always said, “you either win or you learn.”
Failure is not trying, for even victory is the product of trying. Losing is not a failure and we are placed in this world for a certain purpose.
Team Lakay continues to get better, guided with their “Champions are not born they are made” principle where victory and defeat are part of the process of being molded into champions.
Congratulations to Geje for the victory and kudos to the Folayang, Adiwang and Belingon for showcasing greatness--truly made and honed champions!