The art of bashing Alex

HOURS after Alex Eala lost to Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals match of the WTA 1000 event in Dubai, I wrote this post over my Facebook page:

As a former sports editor of The Manila Times, here are my words on Alex Eala’s Middle East stint.

I still believe that Alex still has substance, but the reality is there are levels in any sport. And Alex is still not in the level of Coco.

Beating three top 10 players is still an accomplishment for Alex. And that does not come easy.

Yet I wonder how some Filipinos still choose to churn out brainless comments on Alex.

In the first place, Alex is not “walang kuwenta” or “walang binatbat.” It’s just that there are levels to any sport and Alex needs more time to mature. The best analogy — Tyson ruled with terror in his prime, until a Holyfield reinvented and reinvigorated himself and beat Tyson. And it took Holyfield years to reach Tyson’s level.

But why not let us Filipinos just have it, or to cheer Alex and encourage her to fight on? Even if Alex loses badly at times?

I have a brother who works in Dubai and he tells me stories of how Filipinos there occupy managerial and supervisorial jobs, and are highly valued by employers. But why do these people choose to work in another country? Because the country is a hell hole? The answer is very clear.

So, it also boils down to one thing — we Filipinos seek heroes during times of crisis. And today, the country is mired in a crisis that can drive people to desperation. Just look at the economic growth in the past two quarters, and how our politicians are showing no urgency to act on that. That makes my blood boil.

And Alex? She is the very opposite of the people supposed to serve us but betrayed us.

God bless us all.

Bashing Alex

I wrote that post in response to the growing number of people bashing Eala over social media after her latest loss in the world tennis stage. And there is one thing I noticed about most of the bashing — most are shallow, and shoot from the hip comments. It’s like analyzing the country’s poor economic performance and blaming lazy workers instead of real factors, like our uncaring politicians and realities from the global economy.

The shallow comments also treat Alex as if she is not a pioneering act. And don’t we Filipinos love pioneering acts? Like Lea Salonga getting a major role in a popular stage act (Miss Saigon), Gloria Diaz winning the Miss Universe in 1969, Kai Sotto getting to try out for an NBA team, Manny Pacquiao winning championship titles in eight divisions, among many others?

So, why the bashing on Eala?

Constructive criticism on Eala should be welcomed. And let me give one — her serve needs more improvement.

But bashing to a point of mocking her losses as if these will similar to getting knocked out in one round? Unreasonable.

Understanding the sport of tennis also seems lost among most of the bashers of Eala. In tennis, losses are very common even among the top guns. So, what should we expect from the second- and third-tier players?

Gauff, like Eala, lost in the first round of the WTA 1000 event in Doha. And it looks like the bashers of Alex would rather gloss over that fact, and instead came down hard on the Filipina.

Let me also reiterate that there are levels to any sport. Or the “maturation” time for each athlete varies. And Gauff matured earlier, while Eala needs more time. There are also other factors that determine an athlete’s development, like access to quality sports training experts.

Two cases come into my mind in accessing quality training experts — boxers Manny Pacquiao and Evander Holyfield.

Pacquiao’s development reached very high levels after Freddie Roach became his trainer, and Pacquiao’s accessing plyometrics expert Alex Ariza and strength and conditioning coach Justine Fortune extended his competitive years almost beyond father time.

As for Holyfield, he underwent an intensive conditioning and power training regime under the late Fred Hatfield, known in his circle as “Mr. Squat,” for accomplishing almost inhuman lifting poundages for the squat. If it were not for Hatfield’s training, Holyfield would have been ended up a ragdoll whenever he faced tough heavyweights. Holyfield would deal Mike Tyson one of his worst beatings.

And Gauff? Maybe she has access to the best conditioning coaches in the United States where she is based. That may be one thing Eala badly needs to level up her game.

I won’t be surprised if Gauff trains mad like Tyson or Holyfield in secrecy or away from the cameras. Honestly, do you think Gauff’s camp will flex or detail her training system over social media?

In the end, I still see more reasons to keep on cheering Alex. As one politician said before, “weather, weather lang yan.”

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