The PSC and POC slam door on U23 Azkals

May gantimpala bang dapat pang asahan

upang kumilos ng tama't makatwiran?

- Joey Ayala

Those words are ringing in my ear as I struggle to digest the awful news today, reported by Philstar's Olmin Leyba, that the U23 National Men's Football team will not go to the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar.

POC Chairman Tom Carrasco's abysmal words are here, lifted from Leyba's article.

“Wala tayong makitang basis para maisama sila sa delegation. Isa lang ang kanilang friendly game na sinalihan at natalo pa sa Singapore. Kung sana mga apat o limang friendly games ang kanilang sinalihan para may basis tayo. Nagiging patas lamang tayo sa lahat ng mga National Sports Authorities na dumaan din sa ganitong pagsusuri.”

And just like that, it's over. Where do I begin? How do I express my anger?

Firstly, Carrasco is misinformed. The team has had more than one friendly. They played against the UFL All-Stars and drew 1-1 against a team full of players all older and more experienced than them. They also participated in the UFL Preseason Cup and have had other friendlies as well with teams here.

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True, they lost 1-0 to Singapore, but it was on the road, with little preparation, and several key players were missing. Singapore's U23 team featured players from the Lions XII club that just won the top tier of Malaysian club Football.

But I guess Mr. Carrasco can't be bothered with looking at the details of a situation. He'd rather just see the end result. I guess it's simpler and easier that way for him. Talo sila, so they must not be a very good side. There surely can't be more to it, can there?

Cebuano sportswriter Mike Limpag has a great rebuttal to Carrasco's criticism of the lack of friendlies. He offers this via Twitter:

Maybe some background will help. Apparently, once upon a time our sporting powers-that-be used to send plenty of athletes in all different sports to the SEA Games. When our sportsmen and sportswomen would come home empty-handed, the POC and PSC must have realized that something was amiss, and started sending lean and mean delegations instead.

This thinking is fine, if there is a set budget for the entire delegation, and you must have bang-for-the-buck. But that's not the case with the U23 Azkals. The POC and PSC will spend nothing to bring this team to Myanmar. Their participation already has the backing of kind sponsors.

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Is it right to not send a team just because they can't win? Imagine telling our kids something like “I'll only let you play Football if you'll succeed and become an Azkal. If not, then forget it. Don't waste my time.”

“They should look at the Olympic charter,” said Philippine Football Federation president Nonong Araneta over the phone. “It says that winning gold is not everything in Olympism. It also says that Olympism is there to inspire the youth.”

I took a look at the Olympic Charter and found this in the Fundamental Principles of Olympism. It is the Sixth Principle.

“Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.”

I'll take the “or otherwise” to heart. The POC and PSC are discriminating against this team because they think they are not good enough to win a gold medal. Therefore they are in clear violation of the Olympic Charter.

This is outrageous. How could they think in this manner? Well, the answer is, maybe that isn't their real reason for benching the team.

A Filipino privy to Myanmar's SEA Games preparations sent me a message on Facebook. He/she prefers not to be named.

“The host Myanmar is totally manipulating the outcome of the SEA games mainly at the expense of the Philippines...ergo the POC's stance of sending a 'token delegation.' The SEA games will be a comedy, and the biggest joke will be on the Philippines since we're the primary target of Myanmar. If they get through us, they will target the stronger countries.”

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Apparently Myanmar, per the prerogative of the host, is omitting sports we are strong in and entering other more obscure sports that we don't even play, like the Vietnamese martial art of Vovinam.

Limpag seems to think this is behind the POC and PSC's moves. On another tweet from Friday he said "We reached this point because PSC/POC want to send a message to Myanmar. U23 just a casualty.

If this is true, then this is highly unsporting of Myanmar. It's shameful actually. And yet what is our response? To hold back our teams and athletes. To spoil Myanmar's party. In other words, we're being the victim of poor sportsmanship, and we are retaliating with even poorer sportsmanship. Our athletes? Collateral damage. Screwing Myanmar is more important.

Hasn't anyone in the POC and PSC leadership ever heard of the saying “two wrongs don't make a right?”

“They'll never admit this publicly,” says another sports official who also does not want to be quoted.

If the POC and PSC's actions are to be taken on face value, then they are poor. If they are cover for the real reason of punishing Myanmar, then it's even worse.

At the end of the day, it probably isn't a stretch to assume that the POC and the PSC exist to develop sport in the country. If that is so, how can they explain this business of preventing a youth team from competing in an international competition? Isn't it precisely through competition that athletes and teams are developed?

Even if the U23 Azkals play in Myanmar and don't win a medal, at the very least they will gain valuable experience that can help them succeed down the road. But even this idea is pooh-poohed.

“Kung pupunta lang sila doon para mag-ensayo, eh isang malaking kalokohan yun”, one POC official was quoted as saying in a major broadsheet. In my opinion a callous, wrong-headed and insensitive thing to say.

Sorry Philippine athletes, you've all got to be great right away. If not, you're out in the cold.

Azkals boss Dan Palami wonders aloud if the POC and PSC strategy will succeed, and if not, will they bear the responsibility?

"If it happens that the SEAG delegation fall short of their projected gold medals," Palami tweeted, "will the POC Head have the delicadeza to resign?"

Okay maybe there really is more to their decision than what we know. Maybe there are sides to this that we aren't privileged to know. But the POC and PSC aren't sharing these sides. So we have to judge them by the actions and words that they have displayed.

My message to the hierarchy of the POC and PSC is simple: your decision is extremely unpopular. You might want to consider the possibility that you might be wrong.

And the ones most hurt are the athletes themselves. U23 striker Jinggoy Valmayo, simply tweeted, "Sea games :("

If we follow this path you have laid, pretty soon we'll be sending one Pool player and one Basketball team to every SEA Games, all while allowing other sports to atrophy and wither.

We, Pinoy sports fans, understand that winning isn't everything. That the joy of sports is the struggle. The ecstacy and agony intertwined. The hard work. The sacrifice. The admiration for the beauty of each game. How competition and effort builds character. The friendship and respect that is developed through heated sporting battle. The healthy expression of national pride.

All this is what makes sports wonderful. Gold medals are just a welcome bonus.

We get it. Why can't you?

Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.
Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.