Gilas Pilipinas ekes out a nail-biting 82-81 win over Jordan to keep the Philippines’ hopes alive in the FIBA 2027 Qualifiers, despite the absence of naturalized star, Justin Brownlee.
The Guns Are Silent in Buldon
Buldon taught me that peace is not always won by defeating an enemy. Sometimes, peace begins when you give people enough reason to stop being enemies in the first place. Winning the war, I learned, is not always what matters. What matters more is winning the peace.
From Enemies To Brothers-In-Arms
Many questions were seeking to be answered: Could the memory of years of fighting simply be erased? Could we bury the suspicion between Christians and Muslims? How do I deal with the prejudice among my veteran soldiers – or the fears of the former rebels? Could we be certain of their loyalty? And, perhaps most difficult of all, how could we erase the invisible, yet almost tangible divide between “them” and “us”? Ultimately, the question was simple: How does one welcome a man who may once have been shooting at soldiers like us – and now ask him to become our brother-in-arms?
The Children of Carmen
On our last night in Davao, I asked what they had learned from our trip. After hearing many of the kids offering gratitude for the trip, a young boy – someone who had stayed silent and detached for most of the trip – raised his hand slowly, his eyes wide and innocent, and when acknowledged, spoke candidly in their dialect. His words pierced straight through my heart: “I learned that not all soldiers are killers.” Silence. “And not all Christians are land-grabbers,” he added.
What I Learned From the Hills of Hilongos
Coming home, marching out from those dark woods, I would appreciate more clearly why General Abadia insisted that officers must first prove themselves in the trenches before aspiring for higher commands. Men do not follow rank. They follow credibility. They follow leaders who have carried the same heavy pack, walked the same knee-deep muddy trails, endured the same sleepless, shivering nights, and shared the exact same mortal dangers.
When Comfort Was No Longer Enough
Little by little, the mountains would humble me with lessons that no staff assignment could teach: that leadership begins with shared hardship, that credibility is earned rather than assigned, and that comfort, if left unchecked, has a quiet way of softening even the most experienced of soldiers. I had returned to command a Scout Ranger Company. I didn’t realize it then, but my Rangers were also slowly – and subtly – teaching their commander how to become one again.
Color My World 