The men who helped Joy succeed

The relationship between Joy and Patafa president Juico is thawing and I hope it continues. And I think it’s time, too, for the Patafa president to drop by Cebu and see the various programs the two have created for the sport.

Mary Joy Tabal's path to life after the natonal team opened up thanks to Philip Duenas and Jonel Borromeo. It was late 2015 and Tabal had been off the national team for a while, months after winning the silver medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

Dueñas was busy helping the man behind Motorace Philippines train for a triathlon, when the coach who discovered Tabal opened up about another runner of his who needed a sponsor.

Borromeo signed her up and the rest, as the cliche goes, is history.

No one is grabbing credit, nor is anyone trying to overlook them but I hope both Jonel and Philip will get their due. Ramon Fernandez, who received the lion's share of the accolades when that picture of his and Mary Joy spread on so- cial media, was the first to deflect the honor to Jonel, naming him as the man behind the success of Joy.

It's true, too. And the partnership between Joy-Philip and Jonel shows what can be achieved should the right resources be channeled into the right directions.

As a gold medalist, Tabal will receive an incentive from the PSC. It was P100,000 for a gold medal in 2015, though the PSC proposed that it be increased to P300,000. Duenas, Tabal's coach since she shifted from sprinting, will get nada because he isn't the official coach of Joy but Rene Herrera of Patafa.

Dueñas should be used to that by now because in the past international events of Joy--2015 Seag, Rio Olympics and 2017 Seag--he has to borrow another athlete's ID just to get into the restricted area. It's a good thing then that nobody bothers to check the faces on the ID with the wearer.

But after the 2017 Seag, I think it's time to officially recognize this partnership? For Patafa to officially assign Joy to Philip Duenas? Remember, the final goal of Joy is the 2020 Olympics and that's three years away. Naming his coach of some seven years to be her official coach may save us the drama of the previous two, right?

And perhaps, Patafa, too can appoint Duenas as sort of a talent scout in the Visayas, so he can unearth more Joy Tabal.

The relationship between Joy and Patafa president Philip Ella Juico is thawing and I hope it continues. And I think it's time, too, for the Patafa president to drop by Cebu and see the various programs the two have created for the sport.

Perhaps by doing that they will see the value in Joy being in Cebu more.