Franco Nube 
The recently concluded stint of Filipino Olympians during the 2024 Paris Olympics has shown the country and the world, that Filipinos can compete with the world’s best in the highest level of sports. Medals in gymnastics and boxing, near podium finish in pole vault and golf, and good performances in other events, are testaments to the ever-increasing level of sports in the Philippines. However, aside from the courage and skills of these athletes, one thing is common among all of them — the lack of funding. “Amazing” is an understatement when describing the Filipino Olympians who managed to bring their country Olympic medals, but it is even more astonishing considering the fact that these events lack enough funding, in comparison to a certain sport, basketball.
Funding and achievements
It is no secret that the Philippines is one of the countries with the most die-hard fans of basketball, even having an established Basketball league (PBA) mimicking the National Basketball League of the USA. With the fever that Filipinos have for this sport, two things followed suit with the progress of this game in the Philippines — funding and fans. The funding for the National Basketball team is inarguably greater than the funding of any other sport in the Philippines (gymnastics, track and field, boxing, etc.) and even the equipment and coaching are far behind, but the people have come to notice that “other” sports have won more in the international and Olympic stages with very little funds, compared to basketball — which has, unfortunately, failed to reach the Olympics. With this trend of underfunded athletes winning medals and trophies internationally at the world stage, bringing honor and pride to the Philippines, it is only right for the government and the private sector to increase their funds equal to or at least near the funding given to the national basketball team.
Hidilyn Diaz is one of the most famous Filipino athletes in history, as she was the very first Filipino to win an Olympic Gold medal in 2020, in a sport that was underfunded by the government and private sectors alike — weightlifting. The same lack of funding can be observed for the pole vaulter EJ Obiena, who, like Diaz, struggled to gather enough funding to represent the country at the highest level of the sport. There exists a trend where athletes of sports other than basketball struggle to fund their athletic endeavor to represent the nation, but, when they come home with medals, are greeted and welcomed as champions and heroes. There needs to be better policies ensuring that athletes will all be treated equally, and given the same opportunities to represent their nation, as this will benefit not only them, but the country as a whole.
Who’s to blame?
Of course, it is not the basketball team’s fault that they receive a lot of monetary support from private sectors while other sports do not, nor is it basketball’s fault that it stands as one of the most famous sports in the nation while other sports get little to no attention at all. But this is not about choosing one sport over the other in terms of giving them support and help, especially if they are carrying the country’s flag on their back — it is simply a call for the government and private sectors to pay more attention to other sporting events aside from basketball to ensure that opportunities will not be deprived to those who deserve it just because they excel at other sports. It is not about taking away from the sport of basketball, but giving more to other sports that lack support and funding.
Filipinos already know that they can excel at other sports at the highest level, but there’s another reason why they need to focus on these sports aside from basketball — height. As die-hard fans of basketball, Filipinos know that this is a tall man’s game, it has always been and always will be — of course, there are instances where heart matters more over height, but it has rarely worked for Gilas, and they have a lot of heart for the sport. In sports where height is not necessarily a limiting factor, take Carlos Yulo, Hidilyn Diaz, and Manny Pacquiao for example, they have won world titles and medals with heights not exceeding six feet — something they certainly could not have done playing basketball; with the average height of Filipinos of just 5’5” for men and 5’1” for women, Filipinos are more likely to excel internationally in sports aside basketball.
For the country
The end goal is the same for the athletes, the private sector, government, and the Filipino citizens — to bring honor and pride to the country. And in the case of sports, if that can already be achieved by underfunded overachievers, what more can they bring to their home country if they were given proper equipment, coaching, and fund to fully reach their potential? The Philippines needs to recognize the talent of Filipino athletes and the Filipino youth — talent that may not be aligned with basketball.
If the Philippines desires to show the world that it can be great in sports, it must first prove it to its own athletes.
