Filipino Divers Remain High-spirited, Laugh Off Criticisms

Facing an embarrassing situation with smiles didn’t save the two Filipino divers from jeering after their poor performance at the SEA Games 2015 in Singapore. The diving duo’s bad landing at the 3-meter springboard diving finals has landed them to a pool of ridicule and taunting memes.

Showing the true meaning of sportsmanship, John David Pahoyo and John Elmerson Fabriga, who both scored zero in Dive 4 after landing on their backs, chose a positive response. The two tenaciously laughed off criticisms as they acknowledged their mistakes. They both remained high-spirited despite admittedly being embarrassed by the failed dive which was made even worse by disparaging comments coming from netizens worldwide.

In a response to the video (which has already gone viral) using his personal Facebook account, Pahoyo writes,

“I even laughed at myself after I did this dive. Hehehe. But after all, this was not the first time I failed a dive, and I was not the first one who did so. And I am still proud because not all of us have the privilege to represent our own country to such a big sporting event like this. And by the way can I ask all of you if you can still smile after getting embarrassed in front of thousands of people?”

On Facebook, SEA Games : Asian Games : Olympic Games : Team Philippines News Updates account: The page tells of praises for the two athletes for their “bravery and maturity in times of adversity.” The Facebook account which has been providing sports updates on SEA Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games since 2011 also gives hints of the alleged mismanagement in the Philippine Olympics Committee. Here’s the sentiments written on that page,

“OUR SALUTE to Filipino divers John David Pahoyo and John Elmerson Fabriga for such bravery and maturity in times of adversity. Their blunders are reflections of how badly managed Philippine Aquatics is…. SAD. SAD. SAD. SAD.”

The page on late Thursday also shared Pahoyo’s earlier post on his personal Facebook account recounting the successful synchronized diving he had with Fabriga the previous day.