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MANILA, Philippines – To say that 2020 has been an eventful year is an understatement.
Whether locally or internationally, the year has brought many experiences, both good and bad, to people throughout its course as the decade began.
And the sports world was no exception, even with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hampering more than a handful of sporting events.
Philstar.com Take a look at an eventful year in which a lot of sports history was made.
Olympic Games and Major Sports Receive COVID-19
Perhaps the biggest sports stories of the year revolve around events that didn’t happen.
Among all the cancellations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games takes the cake.
In an unprecedented move, the International Olympic Committee announced in March that the Games would be postponed for the first time since World War II.
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic slowly became visible, sports were forced to take a back seat as the world struggled to contain the dangerous virus.
In addition to the Olympics, other major sports leagues such as the NBA and the Premier League also saw significant changes to their schedules due to the health crisis.
At the local level, the PBA was forced to hold only one conference instead of the usual three per year.
Meanwhile, the amateur and college leagues across the country have yet to return.
Collegiate league UAAP, for its part, announced the cancellation of its 83rd season, which marked the first time the league canceled a season in peacetime.
Eala makes history in Philippine tennis
Before the new coronavirus wreaked havoc around the world, Filipino tennis player Alex Eala got off to a promising start to the country’s sports year.
Eala became the Filipino tennis player to win a Grand Slam title, either in the Juniors or Seniors tournament, after dominating the Australian Open women’s doubles tournament in late January.
What seemed like a promising start to the Eala season would eventually be shelved due to the pandemic. Eala won the country’s first Grand Slam title since 2009.
The 15-year-old tennister topped the competition with fellow Indon member Priska Nugroho.
Nino Alcantara had previously won a Grand Slam also at the Australian Open Juniors tournament when he ruled the men’s doubles with Hsieh Chen-peng.
Pinay hoopers achieve pro league dream
It may have been in the middle of a pandemic, but there was no stopping the rise of Pinay players in the country with the establishment of the first professional women’s basketball tournament in the Philippines.
The Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) obtained the Professional Seal of the Games and Amusement Board in late August and has been preparing for its first season as a professional league.
Since then, Maiden’s professional women’s basketball league has attracted a lot of attention with hopefuls swarming in their first draft request.
The league recently made history after holding its first draft combo at Victoria Sports, even in the midst of the pandemic.
If all goes well, the WNBL hopes to build on the momentum they built up over the year to propel them to an early 2021 start to their first professional season.
Kai Sotto takes the next step in the NBA dream
Not even a global pandemic could stop Filipino basketball phenomenon Kai Sotto from continuing on his way to the NBA.
After a year of training in the United States, Sotto grew much closer to his dream of being the first Filipino in the NBA after committing to the NBA G League in May.
Since then, the 7’2 “big man has been training with Team Ignite, along with other elite prospects like Filipino-American Jalen Green.
Sotto is ready to test his mettle with veterans in the NBA G League when they hopefully start their season early next year.
If things progress for the Filipino big man, he could find himself in the NBA draft in 2021.
PBA Has a Historic Seasonal Bubble
Although blocked for a few months due to the pandemic, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) was able to advance and maintain its 45th season in a “bubble” format.
First employed by the NBA, the PBA succeeded in hosting a full conference in Clark City, Pampanga, amid the coronavirus crisis, while keeping its players and everyone involved safe within the league’s headquarters.
Asia’s premier professional basketball tournament saw many firsts in the “bubble,” the first PBA game starting in the morning, the first day of quad header play, and back-to-back team games for the first time. the first time, just to name a few.
The legendary Barangay Ginebra San Miguel franchise would become the eventual champions of the first configuration of its kind.
Young Gilas proves his worth in the Bahrain bubble
A Gilas Pilipinas team of cadets was deployed for the 2021 FIBA Asian Cup qualifiers in Manama, Bahrain.
Also held in a now-normal “bubble” setup, hoopers fresh out of college, and even those still in college, represented the flag and country in a pocket tournament that resulted in an immaculate record of 2-0 for the Filipinos.
Having to get by without professional players with the PBA bubble still in full swing at the time, college stars Juan Gómez de Liano and Dwight Ramos faced the challenge of leading a young and inexperienced team.
Although they lacked veteran leadership, the youngsters were able to prove themselves and defeated an all-professional team from Thailand twice in their bubble encounters.
And although the situation required it, the engagement became an opportunity to see how bright the future of Philippine basketball is.
Many sporting events may have been sidelined in 2020 with all the crisis facing the world, but Filipino sports fans still had a lot to enjoy.
Come next year, fans and athletes can only hope for the best and a more active year for sports.
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