MOTHER’S Day got extended for a mother-and-daughter tandem in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. And they emerged as one of the best, if not the most outstanding, stories for the Philippine contingent in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
Ma. Cristina Vergara, a 44-year-old retired Philippine Navy personnel, went there with her daughter, 18-year-old Cathlyn Gee, hoping to inspire the country’s freestyle women wrestlers to big victories in her capacity as playing-coach.
Instead, she was thrust into the limelight as a substitute fighter.
Levi Espuerta was supposed to represent the country in the 65kg women’s category but got injured. Faced with no other option, wrestling officials tapped Vergara to take Espuerta’s slot.
Vergara is no stranger to competition, having represented the country in numerous SEA Games, including the 2003 Vietnam Games and 2005 Games in the Philippines, winning gold medals.
After the 2007 Games in Thailand, she decided to retire, convinced that at 28, it was time to give other wrestlers, the younger and promising ones, a chance to shine.
But she unretired later to coach the national wrestlers. Little did she know that on her shoulders would fall the huge task of filling up the slot reserved for Espuerta.
She was told by her fellow coach, Efrelyn Calitis-Crosby, that she would have to suit up as a substitute player and try to win a medal of whatever color.
“Ang sabi nila sa akin, ‘kaya mo yan coach, veteran ka.’ Ang laki ng pressure sa akin. Tawag ito para sa bansa kaya sinubukan ko na din,” said Vergara, who made it to the finals by beating Sopha Thammahong of Laos by superiority in the semifinals.
Ranged against the much-younger Sambat Vannak of Cambodia in the finals, Vergara knew she had to dig deep into her bag of tricks. Vannak, after all, had beaten a tough Vietnamese fighter, Thi Ly Kieu, in the semifinals and had the support of the hometown crowd. Only a small group of Pinoy fans cheered for Vergara, hoping she could pull off a miracle.
“I never thought I can still do it,” said Vergara, who beat Vannak by superiority for the shiny gold, giving the Philippines its second wrestling gold after Jason Balabal’s victory in the men’s 87kg Greco Roman event.
An hour earlier, Cathlyn clinched a bronze medal in the women’s freestyle 59kg event, sending a buzz among the Pinoy supporters in the arena.
“Amost one year din kaming nag-training na mag-ina para rito. Sumasabay ako sa training ng players ko kahit coach na ako, pa-kundisyon lang. Minsan napagsasabihan, napapagalitan ko rin si Cathlyn,” said Vergara, whose three siblings are all in the Navy.
“I keep pushing her to train smart and harder because she has the opportunity to excel. She can still go to the Olympics because she’s still young,” Vergara said of Cathlyn, a first-year BS Nutrition and Dietetics student at University of Santo Tomas.
“May pressure po sa akin. Idol ko po si mama at marami na siyang gold,” said Cathlyn, who was named to the national team in 2019.
Their mission done, Vergara heaved a big sigh of relief, saying: “Special, di lang fourth medal overall, third gold ko at first ko in 18 years. Kasabay ko pa ngayon ang aking anak na nanalo” as they shared center stage with Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.
So what’s in store for them? The next SEA Games will be held in Thailand in 2025. Will they be there anew?
“Let’s see kasi by that time 46-years-old na ko,” said Vergara, a native of Roxas, Capiz.
“Marami pang puwedeng mangyari. Titingnan ko kung malakas pa ako nu’n, kung makakaya ko pa. Matagal pa naman. Nag-aaral pa rin si Cathlyn. Nasa kanya na ‘yun kung gusto niyang magpatuloy, gagabayan lang namin siya.”
It won’t be surprising, however, if we see them competing anew in Thailand.
