EDITORIAL – Striving for supremacy

It seems the Philippines is well on its way to surpassing its good performance in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games where it grabbed the overall championship, its best showing so far in the region’s most prestigious sporting competition.

In the ongoing 30th SEA Games that the country is hosting for the fourth time, the Philippines immediately jumped the gun on the region’s powerhouses Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, cruising to a comfortable early lead.

As of yesterday afternoon, the Philippines already garnered at least 40 golds, way ahead of Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, its closest competitors and the perennial champions in the previous stagings of the biennial meet.

In just five days, the Philippines already surpassed its 2017 SEA Games performance, which produced only 25 golds. Barring any major come-from-behind push from other rivals, the country will likely stay on stop until the end.

In spite of the different controversies surrounding the country’s costly preparations for the SEA Games, the excellent performance of our athletes is certainly a breath of fresh air in the wake of political squabbling.

Yes, it has been exhilarating to witness our athletes giving their best for the gold and overall supremacy, greatly unaffected by the constant political mudslinging between the administration and the opposition.

We hope the country sustains its strong performance and cops the overall championship to send a message to the world that the Philippines has returned to its usual place in the sporting world after decades of hibernation.

And, yes, an overall championship performance will definitely teach our leaders a valuable lesson that any political division will never prevent our athletes from striving for supremacy, as shown in the ongoing meet.