Filipino athletes reach historic heights this year

CNN Philippines

Filipino athletes went all out in 2023 to give pride and glory to the country.  Pauline Verzosa revisits the highlights that defined Philippine sports this year.  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 It was another banner year for Filipino athletes this 2023, a year of historic victories and

00:08 new records for the country.

00:10 Back in May, over 900 athletes represented the flag in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games

00:14 in Cambodia, where the Philippines landed fifth overall with a total of 58 gold medals

00:19 led by EJ Obiena, Carlos Yulo, Agatha Wong, and Carlo Faalam.

00:24 In July, the Philippine women's football team made its historic debut in the FIFA Women's

00:28 World Cup.

00:29 The international team shocked the world with a huge upset over co-host New Zealand in the

00:33 group stage.

00:34 The Filipinas scored a 1-0 victory, courtesy of Serena Bolden's sensational header and

00:38 goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel's superb defense.

00:41 I don't think it will ever become real.

00:44 I mean, being there and being on the pitch, it was magical and amazing.

00:50 In August, the Philippines became the center of world-class basketball action as it co-hosted

00:54 the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

00:56 Basketball players from all over the world made their way to the country, including Team

01:00 USA and even NBA superstars.

01:03 Gila's Filipinas also saw action in the competition led by naturalized player Jordan Clarkson.

01:08 The national team, however, lost all its group stage matches against the Dominican Republic,

01:12 Angola, and Italy, but managed to score a victory against China in the classification

01:16 round to finish 24th overall and clinch a ticket to the Olympic qualifiers in the process.

01:21 It was great.

01:22 The fans continued to support us.

01:23 We definitely just wanted to get a win, go home and win at least.

01:30 After their campaign, Chot Reyes announced his resignation as head coach amid a barrage

01:33 of criticism from fans.

01:35 Never mind on me, but on my family and my loved ones, it's just brutal.

01:41 Tim Cohn took over as Gila's interim head coach for the 19th Asian Games, but the PBA's

01:46 winningest coach encountered a number of problems from the lack of time to prepare to issues

01:50 with the lineup.

01:51 Despite this, Gila's Filipinas achieved the impossible and bagged the historic gold medal,

01:56 ending a 61-year drought for the country in basketball.

01:59 This was done for a bigger purpose than anything we've done in the PBA.

02:03 This was for the country.

02:06 Aside from Gila's EJ Obiana and Jiu-Jitsu artists, Meggie Ochoa and Ani Ramirez also

02:10 took home the gold in the regional meet.

02:12 This was also the year Obiana surpassed the elusive 6-meter mark in full vault and jumped

02:17 to world number two while becoming the first Filipino athlete to qualify for the 2024

02:22 Paris Olympics.

02:23 Just like Obiana, three more athletes have punched their tickets to next year's summer

02:27 games including boxer Ymir Marshal and gymnast Carlos Yulo and Alea Finnegan.

02:32 So expect another big and historic year for Filipino athletes this 2024.

02:36 Pauline Verzosa, CNN Philippines.

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