91 in '91: Miracle that started it all

MANILA, Philippines - It was dubbed “The Miracle of ‘91” and yet the country’s hosting of the 1991 Southeast Asian Games meant more than just winning the gold in the sports arena.

For Cecil Hechanova, the founding chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission, the Games provided the country the giant push it needed to move forward.

Almost 20 years after the Games opened under a gray November sky, Hechanova, turned back the pages of time, and talked about its significance.

“The Filipinos’ morale was very low then because of many disasters – the Pinatubo eruption, the killer earthquake in Baguio, and many attempted coups,” he said.

“There was political turmoil. But the success of the SEA Games provided the confidence to the Philippine leadership – the good showing of the Philippines boosted the spirits of President Cory Aquino.”

Hechanova said right after the conclusion of the Games, he got a rare call from the late President and icon of democracy.

“She called and said, ‘Cecil, now I can face the world with my head held high.’ That SEA Games truly sparked the leadership of President Cory,” said Hechanova.

“It also provided confidence to the Philippine sports in general and to the Philippine leadership in particular. Right after the SEA Games, we held the Chess Olympiad, and the chess masters, Anatoly Karpov and Gary Kasparov, said it was one of the best ever.”

In that SEA Games, the Filipinos came very close to winning the overall title with its 91 gold medals, just one victory short of eventual winner Indonesia which had 92.

Hechanova said it was the first time that the Philippines, which had also hosted the SEA Games 10 years earlier, was in the running for the overall title.

“For the first time after how many years, the Philippines garnered 91 gold medals and at that time this was the highest output the Philippines ever had,” said Hechanova, who cited Eric Buhain, Lydia de Vega and Elma Muros as the core of that 1991 team.

“The athletes were very good then, and until now, new athletes are cropping up,” Hechanova added.

True enough, new athletes, some better ones included, cropped up because in 2005, or 14 years after that “Miracle of ’91” the Philippines did win the overall crown in the SEA Games.