Mount Rushmore of Philippine Sports
The Mount Rushmore National Memorial was created by the American sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, and his son Lincoln, to honor the four former presidents whom they believed had left some of the most historical events in the United States. It’s their way of commemorating their heroes’ legacies. As an admirer of great things, it sparked joy in my eyes to create my own Mount Rushmore as well, in the form of writing.
The Philippines has a fair share of extraordinary athletes across multiple sports across different generations. Moreover, a lot of things have changed over the course of the past few years in Philippine sports. It would be a shame if these great big stories are never explored nor studied.
Some all-time greats have finished their illustrious careers which made this the perfect time to honor, to reminisce, to appreciate, to learn the impact, and to not forget the astonishing legacies bestowed upon us.
Comparing different sports is pretty much impossible to balance without making odd biases. Nevertheless, with careful research and strategy, a set of parameters was made to level the playing field and to not rely much on subjectivity. Each athlete is judged based on the created formula to measure how great they truly are. The exclusivity of only choosing four makes these four athletes the best among the very best compared amongst their peers.
Now, let us answer why these four people are deserving to be in the Mount Rushmore of Philippine Sports and…
What makes their legacy great?
1. The Difficulty of Competition
In 1959, the biennial multi-sport event, South East Asian Games (SEA Games) was born. However, the Philippines had not participated in the event’s inaugural season. It was only in 1977 that the Philippines had first sent its athletes to SEA Games, 18 years after the sports event had been established. In nearly 50 years since the Philippines debuted in SEA Games, the country had collected a total of 3,968 medals which includes 1,122 gold medals, 1,260 silver medals, and 1,586 bronze medals. Even missing the first 18 years of the event, the Philippines landed as the fifth-best country among all 11 countries participating in the event as of 2022.
The first modern Games of the Olympiad, famously known as the Olympics, was first held in April 1896 at Athens, Greece and it was set to happen once every four years. During the 1924 Olympics, the Philippines debuted in this monumental event.
Philippines’ Teófilo Yldefonso made history by giving the country’s first-ever Olympic medal in the very next Olympics event in 1928. He won a bronze medal in the Men’s 200-meter breaststroke in swimming. After 96 years since the Philippines first entered the Olympics, 24 Olympic events had passed. The Philippines managed to attend 22 of its events and have only gotten 14 medals in total.
Which competition is tougher?
In terms of quantity, there are only 11 countries competing in the SEA Games. Meanwhile, the lowest countries ever participated in the Olympic Games was only 12, back in 1904 followed by the 1896 Olympics with only 14. In comparison, the lowest attendance of the Olympics is still higher than the highest attendance of SEA Games.
The Olympics has been widely-recognized as the world’s leading sports competition for gathering the elite amongst the elite competitors. It’s the one sport event the world celebrates and the sport event that makes the world stand still. Since 2004, there have been 200+ listed countries competing in the Olympics. In terms of the vast number of competitors, the Olympics’ 200 competing countries surely bests all types of sport events.
Lydia de Vega is widely considered as “1980s fastest woman in Asia” by winning a combined total of 24 medals in the track and field event. She was a two-time Olympian who competed during the 1984 and 1988 Olympics but hasn’t got any successes in the grandest stage of all. The only thing missing from de Vega’s medal collection is the elusive Olympic medal.
Elma Muros is heptathlon champion, more widely known as the Philippines’ “Long Jump Queen”. Like de Vega, Muros also gathered 24 medals under her belt and competed twice in the Olympics during the 1984 and 1996 event. Two athletes with almost identical achievements but, whose career is more legendary?
Lydia de Vega won gold 15 times, 6 silvers, and 3 bronze medals while Elma Muros got 15 gold medals, 3 silvers, and 6 bronze medals. All of Muros’s 15 gold medals are from the SEA Games event while Lydia de Vega manages to win 2 gold medals in the Asian Games, 4 gold medals in the Asian Athletics Championships, and 9 gold medals in SEA Games.
Based on results, there is no doubt that Elma Muros has a way better career in SEA Games than Lydia de Vega. However, Asian Games and Asian Athletics Championships have way more competitors and tougher competition than SEA Games. Muros’s lack of winning percentage against higher competitive leagues made it easier to conclude that Lydia de Vega had a better overall career than Elma Muros.
Conclusion
All medals shine as bright but winning a medal in the Olympics weighs better than Asian Games medals while Asian Games medals weigh better than SEA Games medals. Sports events with higher competitors are often considered to have better competition. The only thing that bests Olympic caliber competitions is winning world titles because world titles are widely considered as the highest achievement of an athlete. Medals are a sign of greatness but not all medals are built and weigh the same.
2. Peak Versus Longevity
Some athletes sustained a relatively high ranking for a long period but never had the chance to prove themselves to their fullest potential while some truly destroyed their competition for a couple of years but did not hold on to their highest position.
Which one is more valuable?
Donnie “Ahas” Nietes has been spectacular in his nearly two-decade career. His 37-fight win streak in a span of 18 years earned him the record for being the longest-reigning Filipino boxing world champion for 15 years as well as holds the most world title defenses with 14 in Philippine boxing history.
In his highest peak, ‘The Filipino Flash’ Nonito Donaire had a 30-fight winning streak over a span of 11 years, 7 years shorter than Nietes. He won 3 of the 5 major super bantamweight titles in just a year which earned him third in the pound-for-pound rankings in 2011 by The Ring Magazine. After 4 amazing victories in 2012, he was awarded as the ‘2012 Fighter of the Year’ by various highly regarded boxing media outlets and continued his standing as one of the top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world in that year.
Both fighters have been world champions in four different weight classes. Twelve of Donaire’s wins are from former world champions while Nietes’ only fought and won against seven former world champions. The most notable fights of Donaire are against fighters who are globally recognized as the top 10 pound-for-pound boxers such as Vic Darchinyan and Naoya Inoue whom he both fought twice, Guillermo Rigondeaux, and Carl Frampton. Kazuto Ioka was the only fighter Nietes had fought who has been globally recognized as one of the top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world, and it was Ioka who ended Nietes’ 18-year undefeated streak during their rematch.
Donaire’s a two-time Ring Magazine ‘KO of the Year’ awardee which he got from knocking-out Vic Darchinyan in 2007 and Fernando Montiel in 2011. Alongside his KO of Vic Darchinyan in 2007, it also earned him the ‘Upset of the Year’ award in that same year. Lastly, a ‘2019 Fight of the Year’ against Naoya Inoue. Out of the 46 wins of Nietes, he had not received any award from his wins or losses.
Donaire had his own fair share of longevity as well but it was not as perfect and lengthy compared to Nietes. At the age of 38, Nonito Donaire defeated Nordine Oubaali for the WBC bantamweight title and made three historical moments in that fight. With his win against Oubaali, Donaire became the oldest boxer in history to become a bantamweight world champion, the first and only three-time world bantamweight champion, and became the sixth fighter in boxing history to be world championship title holder in three consecutive decades. Donaire had won a world title during the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.
Eighteen years of razor-sharp excellency but Nietes’ only shortcoming is not being anywhere near the top of the boxing world in most of his career. Since 2003, Nietes has had an outstanding resume but it was only on the 14th of June 2018 when Nietes first entered The Ring magazine’s pound-for-pound list for being the ninth best boxer in the world. However, the main criticism Nietes gets is that he lacks high level competition. He could have fought other champions in his division or moved up to a higher weight class for some extra challenges which would make his resume full of interesting stories.
What Donaire had done in his peak heavily impacted his overall career by making it a lot more memorable. Nietes have won way more fights and have fewer losses than Donaire but Donaire’s wins and losses are a lot richer than Nietes’ because whenever Donaire is fighting, it is always guaranteed that he is fighting some of the very best boxers boxing has to offer.
Conclusion
Chaos sparks a great narrative, competing against the best athletes in the world will always be more valuable and commendable than having a stable career beating lower level competitors in average leagues.
3. Accolades over Popularity and Impact
There’s no sport more popular than basketball in the Philippines. In 2013, National Geographic created a docuseries called Pinoy Hoops that unravels the Filipino obsession about basketball. Basketball’s accessibility and easy-to-make nature created opportunities for the Filipinos to have a readily-available sport anytime of the day. The sport truly captivated the hearts of the Filipinos and it’s undeniable that it will be overthrown anytime soon.
The iconic landmark ‘Tenement basketball court’ in the Philippines has been flocked by international celebrities and NBA players, such as LeBron James and Jordan Clarkson.
The Philippine basketball team had been one of the most successful basketball teams during the dawn of basketball in Asia. During the first appearance of the Philippine team in the 1954 FIBA World Cup, the team had won a bronze medal, then had another 5 appearances afterwards. In their 27 appearances in the FIBA Asia Cup, the team won 5 gold medals, 4 silvers, and a bronze medal. From 1951 to 1962, the team won 4 consecutive gold medals in the first four events of Asian Games, then gathered a silver and 2 bronze medals in their 16 total appearances. The team had won 9 gold medals and a silver medal from 1913 to 1934 in the Asian multi-sport event, Far Eastern Championship Games.
Philippine basketball team holds the record for the most medals earned in SEA Games with 21 and the most gold medals earned as well with 18. The team once had a 28-year gold medal streak period from 1991 to 2019.
Stats-wise, the Philippine team has been a juggernaut against the South East Asian grounds but hasn’t replicated the success the country had done before against Asian competitions.
The last time the Philippine team won a medal in Asian Games was in 1988. The only time the team gathered global success was winning a bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup in 1954. The Philippine basketball team had 7 appearances in the Olympics but hasn’t gotten a medal yet and haven’t qualified since 1976. As of 2022, there hasn’t been one pure Filipino that has been remotely close to signing a contract to the world’s leading basketball organization, the National Basketball Association.
Conclusion
Basketball may be the Philippines’ most popular sport by a huge margin but it isn’t the most accomplished sport the Philippines’ ever had. Popularity doesn’t determine success. One’s greatness is defined by the magnitude of what they have accomplished, not by the fame they possess.
4. One individual athlete per sport
There’s one particular sport that Filipinos have consistently dominated for over a century now, that’s boxing. From the 14 Olympic medals won by the Philippines, 8 of those medals are from boxing which includes 4 silvers and 4 bronze medals.
There have been 46 world champions hailed from the Philippines in the span of 100 years. Filipino boxing contributed tons for the record books: Pancho Villa being the first Asian world boxing champion, the inaugural NYSAC and The Ring flyweight champion, Ceferino Garcia and Macario Flores are both considered to be the first boxers to ever do the ‘bolo punch’, Gabriel Elorde for being the longest super featherweight world champion in history spanning seven years, Donnie Nietes for being the longest junior-flyweight world champion spanning four years, and Nonito Donaire being the first and only three-time world bantamweight champion, and so much more.
There’s a huge gap between being a champion, being a great champion, to being one of the greatest to ever do it. The Philippines had 46 world champions and some of those boxers are considered to be one of greatest boxers in history.
By sheer numbers and accolades, the sport of boxing has unanimously defeated each and every sport bar none in the Philippines. It would be unfair if other sports aren’t included.
Conclusion
To show love, respect, sportsmanship and appreciation to other athletes, there should only be one athlete in each sport on Mount Rushmore. Each athlete is compared against athletes who also have the same sport as them, then the best athlete of that particular sport will be compared to the very best athlete of other sports to narrow down the best possible candidate.
Final verdict
All Filipino athletes are great but when it comes to overall judgment, no career is equal, others will stand out. The unmentioned athletes doesn’t mean that they aren’t great nor they are overrated, but once we compare them to the caliber of the Mount Rushmore athletes, the objectives are clear cut, those four people are just on another tier of greatness.
To enter the Mount Rushmore of Philippine Sports, an athlete must defy the odds by defeating the toughest competition in their respective field, have sustained both relatively high peak and longevity in their career, has some seemingly unbeatable records not just fame, and have been the best athlete compared to Filipino athletes who have the same sport as theirs. With that said, here’s my first athlete deserving to be in the Mount Rushmore of Philippine Sports:
Hidilyn Diaz
The first one to bring the Philippines one of the most prestigious, if not the most prestigious gold medal in sports history, the Olympics gold medal. When the 2020 Summer Olympics ended, it was like the birth of a hero and a superstar.
When she won the country’s first-ever gold medal, she also ended the country’s gold medal drought since 1924, the year the Philippines first entered the Olympics. She has attended the Olympics four times, Diaz competed in the 2008, 2012, 2016, and the 2020 Olympics. When Diaz won the silver medal in the 2016 Olympics, she not only became the first person to win an Olympic medal in a non-boxing event since 1936 but she also ended the country’s 20-year Olympic medal drought since 1996.
During the 2020 Olympics, Diaz made two historical moments. First, she landed the first Olympic record done by a Filipino athlete when she successfully lifted a total of 127kg in the ‘Clean and Jerk’ event. Second, her 127kg ‘Clean and Jerk’ plus her 97kg ‘Snatch’ made up a total weight of 224kg which also resulted in an Olympic record in the women’s 55kg weightlifting weight class.
Diaz has also attended the World Weightlifting Championships a total of five times during 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 events and won bronze medals during the 2015, 2017, 2019 events. To top it all off, she also won gold medals in the 2018 Asian Games, and the 2019 and 2021 South East Asian Games.
At just the age of 31, Hidilyn Diaz could call it a day and still be among the top Filipino athletes of all time. As of 2022, she said that she has a lot to prove and has said that she’ll be defending her title in the 2024 Olympics.
Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao
As discussed earlier, boxing is the Philippines’ most accomplished sport but it’s evident who’s the best among all Filipino boxers. Manny Pacquiao’s career has been full of ups and downs but it certainly is one of the best things to happen not just in Philippine sports but in all of Philippine and boxing history.
Manny Pacquiao has been a boxer for 26 years and has accomplished a lot of things but to better highlight his career, let’s focus on the things that only he has achieved.
When he defeated Keith Thurman at the age of 40, he made history by being the oldest world welterweight champion and became the first and only boxer to be a four-time world welterweight champion. He is the only eight division world champion, the only boxer to win a lineal championship in five different weight divisions, and the only one to be a world champion across four different decades, the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and the 2020s.
His 2nd round knockout of Ricky Hatton was awarded by The Ring as the ‘Knockout of the Year’ in 2009. He was awarded as the Ring Magazine’s ‘Fighter of the Year’ in 2006, 2008, and 2009 which then made him globally recognized as the ‘Fighter of the Decade’ in the 2000s by various top boxing media sources such as World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Organization (WBO), The Ring, and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).
From a 15-year-old kid to a 40-year-old man, twelve world titles starting from flyweight to super welterweight, has fought 30 former, current, and future world champions, Pacquiao has done it all for the sport of boxing. He is not just hailed as Philippines’ greatest boxer or even Asia’s greatest, he is widely recognized as the greatest southpaw boxer in history and as one of boxing’s greatest of all-time, some have him as their greatest, some have him in their top ten all-time, one thing is for sure, he is inside that G.O.A.T. conversation, he truly is one of one, that’s how great the Pacman truly is.
Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes
The man they call the ‘Magician’, a player who won over 100 international titles, including the most prestigious title in pool, the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) World Championships. He won his first WPA Championship in 1999 at the 9-ball tournament then he won his second WPA Championship in 2004 at the 8-ball tournament. When Reyes won his second WPA Championship, he became the first pool player to win two different pool tournaments in the WPA event.
Reyes has won the U.S. Open thrice in his career. He won the 9-ball Championship in 1994 and has been a three time runner-up in the 9-ball event from 1995 to 1997. He then won the One-Pocket Championship in 2000 and in 2011. His three U.S. Open wins made him the first pool player in the U.S. Open tournament’s history to win multiple pool disciplines across three different decades, the 1990s, 2000s, and the 2010s.
His 13 Derby City Classic championships and 5 Overall Titles made him the event’s winningest champion in the event’s history. Reyes has won the One-Pocket tournament a total of six times during 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and in 2014. He won the 9-ball Tournament in 2005 and in 2010. Lastly, the 10-ball Challenge tournament in 2010. From 2004 to 2007, his championship streak in the Derby City Classic tournament is the event’s most consecutive wins with 4. At the age of 59, Reyes made history by becoming the oldest player to win a championship in the event.
Reyes participated in the pool team sports as well. He won the PBT World Team Billiards with Team Philippines in 1993. As well as winning the World Cup of Pool twice with Francisco Bustamante in 2006 and in 2009. Lastly, a four time winner of the Sands Regency Reno 9-Ball Open in 1985, 1986, 1995, and in 1999.
Efren Reyes has been widely considered as the greatest pool player of all-time. He did not just win competitions, he dominated it all. His playstyle is so unique, it’s like watching trick shots. When he fought Earl Strickland in the 1995 Sands Regency Reno 9-Ball Open Championship, Reyes was put into a seemingly impossible shot in the final round of their championship match. Reyes pulled off the now called “Z-shot” that left everyone in the event a jaw-dropping experience. The shot he made that night is now considered as the greatest and the most famous shot in pool competition history. It happens to be a perfect fit that the greatest pool player happens to have the greatest shot in the highest level of pool competition. The man has done it all in multiple disciplines for decades.
Rafael “Paeng” Villareal Nepomuceno
Talk about longevity, talk about Paeng Nepomuceno. The legend with 50 solid years of sheer dominance. When Efren Reyes started turning pro in 1978, Paeng Nepomuceno was already a Philippine legend at that time. Paeng put bowling on the map of the Philippines and was one of the first athletes to represent the Philippines in world stages.
Paeng’s greatness was well-received by the country as he gathered multiple recognitions across five Philippine presidents. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit, the Philippine Legion of Honor, and the Order of Lakandula with the Class of Champion for Life. In 1999, he was once considered as the “Greatest Filipino Athlete of All Time”, “Athlete of the Century”, and “Athlete of the Millennium” by various media sources.
At only 19 years of age, Paeng won his first championship in the 1976 AMF Bowling World Cup and made history by becoming the youngest tenpin bowling world champion. With this win, he was then honored by the Guinness World Records for this unbeatable feat.
He then continued winning three AMF Bowling World Cups in 1980, 1992, and 1996 afterwards. His four world cup titles are the most in tenpin bowling world cup history and was subsequently awarded by the Guinness World Records as well. His world cup victories came to happen in three different decades, during the 1970s, 1980s, and the 1990s, and it also happens to be in the same years as the Olympics.
At age 50 in 2007, Paeng made another one for the record books, he was awarded by the Guinness World Records for having the most tenpin bowling titles with 118. Twelve years later, in 2019, he eventually beat his own record by updating his 118 tenpin bowling world titles to 133 in 2019 at age 62.
Paeng just can’t seem to stop. He is now the only bowler to have won major tenpin bowling titles in six different decades, he has won during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.
These four exceptional athletes represented the Philippines in its highest order. The determination and perseverance they brought not only made them great but made the Philippines and the Filipino people proud for life.
Some athletes surpasses expectations, some transcends new heights, some represent a generation, while some transcends Philippine sports into a whole another level. These four remarkable athletes truly are in the league of their own. They represent the best of the very best of Philippine athletes and the greatest among the greatest of all-time.
Four athletes that turned into Filipino heroes that became international icons, then ended up as lifetime legends. These are the four people I grew up watching and I am honored to witness the greatness they displayed in their one-of-a-kind career.
The future is bright, new Filipino heroes will emerge, to name a few: Carlos Yulo, Ernest John ‘EJ’ Obiena, Alex Eala, Carlo Paalam, Kai Sotto, Margielyn Didal, Bianca Pagdanganan, etc.
Let’s all witness and embrace the stories these truly outstanding Filipino athletes are creating!