Meet the Philippines' golden quartet in 19th Asian Games

With the 19th Asian Games officially over, Team Philippines wound up in 17th place out of 45 participating nations.

After more than a year of delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipino athletes ensured to leave their mark in the staging of the Hangzhou Asiad, especially the golden quartet.

Raising the flag for the Philippines, these four gold medalists gave the nationals a fair share of incredible moments as this year's Asian Games ended.

Ernest John "EJ" Obiena delivered the first Asiad gold of the Philippines. Thriving under pressure as the whole country expects him to win the men's pole vault, the unbothered son of former Philippine pole vaulter Emerson Obiena broke the previous Asian Games record.

Obiena, the reigning back-to-back Asian Athletics Championships titlist, leaped past the 5.90-meter bar in one try to reset the 5.70m Asiad mark held by Japan's Seito Yamamoto. Clearing the 5.75m earlier, the three-time Southeast Asian Games champion already shattered Yamamoto's record.

He also ended the Philippine athletics team's 37-year gold medal drought in the Asiad. The last time a Filipino trackster bagged a title was in 1986 with Lydia de Vega winning the women's 100-meter dash.

Eclipsing his seventh-place performance five years ago in Indonesia, the first-ever Filipino silver medalist in the World Athletics Championships closed his 2023 outdoor season with 14 podium finishes in 15 competitions.

Jiu-jitsu artist Margarita "Meggie" Ochoa is only one of the two Filipinas to bag a gold in the Hangzhou Asiad. Winning the women's ne-waza 48 kilograms means so much to her, as she shed tears after defeating United Arab Emirates' Balqees Abdualla.

Bucking flu a day before her matches and an injury in the semifinals, Ochoa clinched the gold and went unbeaten in the one-day tournament.

"It was really overwhelming. A lot happened on my way here [to the gold medal win.] Until yesterday, I had the flu. So, I thought I would not be able to fight. I had to drink a lot of medicine," Ochoa said. "Then, in the semifinals, I pulled my hip. It hurt."

Back in the 32nd SEA Games in Phnom Penh, an injury ultimately cost the 33-year-old's third consecutive gold medal in the biennial meet. In Jakarta, Palembang 2018, the two-time jiu-jitsu world champion landed third.

Molded by the setbacks she endured in the past, Ochoa finally savored a gold in Asia's biggest multi-sporting event to add to her already decorated cabinet.

Ochoa's fellow jiu-jitsu artist Annie Ramirez followed her golden footsteps after ruling the women's ne-waza -57 kilograms.

Like Ochoa, she couldn't hold her tears as the reigning three-time SEA Games champion overcame anxiety to achieve such a feat. Since bowing out of the 2018 Asian Games first round, an emotional Ramirez told in an interview with One Sports that she had gone through the mental health condition.

"After that Asian Games, hindi ko alam na nagkaroon na pala ako ng anxiety," she said. "Every training umiiyak ako. Pero nung in-accept ko na may anxiety ako, pumunta ako sa sports psych, 'di muna ako nag-competition, hanggang nakarecover ako from that."

Seeking psychological help and accepting her situation, the 2017 Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games ne-waza titlist returned to the Philippine national team stronger.

Her dedication and determination finally paid off as she took the Asiad gold – the last missing piece of her stacked resume, which includes a world championship title and an Asian Beach Games tiara.

The Philippine men's national basketball team once dominated the Asian Games. It won the Asiad's first four editions from 1951-1962 with FIBA Hall of Fame inductee Carlos Loyzaga leading the way. However, its dominance slowly faded as China overtook the Filipino cagers as kings of Asia in the sport.

But after 61 years, Gilas Pilipinas quenched the thirst of the Filipinos for an Asian Games basketball gold. The triumphant campaign came unprecedented, considering the adversities the Philippines faced before the Asiad. The final 12-man Gilas lineup only had one week to practice due to their original roster scrapped of five players initially listed for the quadrennial extravaganza.

Undeterred by the unfortunate events, Gilas, guided by the winningest PBA tactician Tim Cone, fought their way to the gold medal game. In their first real test, Jordan walloped them by a whooping 25-point margin, relegating them to the quarterfinal qualification game against Qatar.

Gilas vented ire against the young Qatari side for a spot in the quarterfinals. In the QF round, the Filipinos outlasted a gritty Iranian side that erased the former's 21-point third-quarter lead. In the semifinals, the Philippines recovered from 18 points down at the half to beat host China, thanks to Justin Brownlee's 33, including a pair of triples to complete the nationals' comeback victory.

In the finale, payback time for the 1954 FIBA World Cup bronze medalist as it deprived the Jordanians of its first Asiad crown. Defense became the key for Gilas to silence the booing crowd as Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and his company struggled versus the nationals' stifling guard.

Indeed, an unforgettable run to remember for the Filipino hoopers.