The Philippines finished 17th out of 45 countries in the recently concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The country earned four gold medals from pole vault, jiu-jitsu, and basketball. There were two silvers from boxing and wushu and a dozen bronze medals from wushu, taekwondo, karate, tennis, sepak takraw, BMX cycling, jiu-jitsu, and weightlifting.
The Philippines replicated its four-gold medal haul from the 2018 edition, which was all delivered by female athletes. The country finished in 19th place.
There were times, however, when the Philippines ended in the top 10 of the quadrennial event. Yes, that actually did happen. Twice. But the circumstances were different.
Here's a look at the country's best finishes in the Asian Games.
1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India
Ranking: 5th
5 golds | 6 silvers | 8 bronzes
This was the very first Asian Games, and the Philippines finished in fifth place.
The country ruled the basketball scene, led by the legendary Caloy Loyzaga. The country had pretty good swimmers too in Artemio Salamat, Jacinto Cayco, and Nurhatab Rajab as they dominated the backstroke events. And before there was EJ Obiena in pole vault, there was Andres Franco in high jump.
Wow! Amazing! Ang galing ng mga Pinoy!
It has to be noted though that there were only 11 nations that competed. Japan won the overall race with 24 gold medals. China was invited but didn't respond in time. The Korean War was happening too.
1954 Asian Games in Manila, Philippines
Ranking: 2nd
14 golds | 14 silvers | 17 bronzes
It is to be expected that a host country would do fantastically well during the games, and the Philippines was no exception in 1954.
Again, Loyzaga delivered basketball gold with Mariano Tolentino, Ignacio Ramos, and the rest of the national squad.
It was also the rise of Filipina swimmers, with the likes of Haydee-Coloso Espino and Jocelyn von Giese ruling aquatics.
Shooters shot for gold with Martin Gison, Albert von Einsiedel, Adolfo Feliciano, and Hernando Castelo.
Boxers also shone, as Ernesto Sajo, Alejandro Ortuoste, Celedonio Espinosa, Ernesto Porto, and Vicente Tuñacao flexed their might inside the ring.
Japan still won the entire event, while the Philippines beat South Korea to finish second out of 19 countries. There was still no mainland China, but Taiwan—then known as the Republic of China—ended up sixth.
1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan
Ranking: 2nd
8 golds | 19 silvers | 20 bronzes
The Philippines finished second once again, this time out of 20 countries.
Yes, the Filipinos won basketball gold again. Loyzaga was still at it with Tolentino, Antonio Villamor, Kurt Bachmann, and Eduardo Lim.
In other sports, Feliciano was still there for another shooting gold, swimmers Coloso and von Giese delivered more mint, and track and field athletes were back at the top with sprinters like Inocencia Solis, Remegio Vista, Isaac Gomez, Pedro Subido, and Enrique Bautista.
And quite impressively, Raymundo Deyro ruled Asian tennis, picking up the singles gold and the doubles gold with Felicisimo Ampon.
Just like in 1954, Japan won, while South Korea was third. There's still no China, but Iran and Taiwan rose to the top five.
1962 Asian Games in Jakarta Indonesia
Ranking: 5th
7 golds | 6 silvers | 24 bronzes
The Philippines slightly dropped to fifth place out of 17 countries. Political pressure also played a role, as Indonesia excluded Israel and Taiwan.
Here, Loyzaga and company won their last basketball gold medal for the Philippines. And it has to be taken into consideration that unlike the Gilas Pilipinas' victory in Hangzhou, there was no playoff for the title. The Filipinos won four straight gold medals by having the best record in the round-robin finals.
This Asian Games also saw the rise of track legend Mona Sulaiman, who won three gold medals in the 100m dash, the 200m dash, and the 4x100m relay.
1966 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand
Ranking: 10th
2 golds | 15 silvers | 25 bronzes
Israel and Taiwan returned to the Asian Games in this edition and broke the Philippines' basketball reign along with it. The Filipinos lost to the Taiwanese to settle for sixth, while Israel claimed the gold.
Only boxer Rodolfo Arpon and discus thrower Josephine de la Viña delivered gold medals for the Philippines.
But despite the measly haul, the country still ended up in the top 10 among 16 nations. Just for perspective, if the Philippines' two-gold medal haul happened in this year's edition, it would finish in 24th place.
Rest of the Asian Games
The first five editions were the times that the Philippines finished within the top 10 in consecutive fashion. By 1974, Israel was expelled from the Asiad and China was accepted.
China eventually dethroned Japan as the overall winner by 1982 when the Asian Games returned to New Delhi.
As for the Philippines, the country got a resurgence in 1986 and reached sixth place when Lydia de Vega delivered gold in the 100m dash, Bong Coo got double golds in bowling, and Ramon Brobio found his stroke in golf.
The country has yet to return to the top 10 ever since, as the Asian Games has grown bigger and bigger. But the slight improvement this year, which included the country's first basketball gold in over six decades, could be a sign of better things to come for the Philippines.
(PM)