THE PHILIPPINES IS SUSPENDED IN THE DAVIS CUP TIE

Perhaps the lowest point in the history of Philippine Tennis was when the country was suspended in the Davis Cup competition in 1978 for non-payment of dues. The number of tournaments dwindled to a few. Players left for teaching jobs overseas, and most juniors headed for the United States to study. The nation’s tennis leaders could not embark on a solid foundation that would set a structure for the development of modern tennis in the country. The cycle of excellence, whereby former tennis champions are hired like Felicisimo Ampon, Ray Deyro and Leonardo Gavia, as to be coaching a critical mass of talented athletes for a consistent representation in international championships, had little or no support - organizational and financial - to be put on a full spin.

PAAF ABOLISHED, NSA’S DECENTRALIZED

The condition of Philippine sport took a beating between 1971 and 1978 when several bids to revive the country’s sports program proved unsuccessful. Senator Ambrosio Padilla retired as President of PAAF. Political and internal squabbles became frequent which led to the abolition of the PAAF. It paved the way to the decentralization of the National Sports Associations under the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and were subsumed under the Department of Youth & Sports Development (DYSD) created by Marcos under P.D. 604.

MICHAEL KEON ELECTED AS POC CHIEF & PROJECT GINTONG ALAY DIRECTOR

The introduction of the "Project Director" concept in 1979 opened a new form of participation by the private sector. The Gintong Alay Project was created for track and field headed by Keon and extended to other sports associations because of its success, which accounted for improved performance of the Filipinos abroad. The youthful Michael was then elected as the POC Chief, where he took the country to prominence which served as a model for the Southeast Asian Region. Mr. Panfilo Domingo, then President of Philippine National Bank (PNB), became the Project Director for tennis. The Gintong Alay was expanced to include 17 other sports in close coordination with the NSA’s under LOI No. 1022-A.

The new concept also inspired the creation of the Philippine Youth Tennis Development Association (PYTDA) that supplemented the country’s tennis projects in the international and national competition levels for juniors. It was then founded by the current National Tennis Leaders headed by Col. Salvador Andrada and Mr. Manuel Misa. In 1980, Executive Order No. 805 abolished the Department of Youth and Sports Development and transferred its functions to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECS) later named DECS.

Like most pioneering individuals, Michael Keon would neither reap nor witness the benefits of the foundations he helped create because of the economic and political whirlwind that engulfed the national scene a few years later in 1983 and 1986 that dislodged his momentous projects. The same athletes that he developed in the 80’s are still the durable aging athletes that