Jakarta Diary Friday December 17, 2010

Both the Philippines and host Indonesia stayed in the same hotel, the Sultan Hotel Jakarta in the Senaya district for the semifinal matches of the 2010 Suzuki Cup. Unlike in Vietnam where the Philippines was billeted at the Sheraton alongside Singapore and Myanmar with Vietnam headquartered somewhere else.

The hotel complex is huge and there seem to be three different towers here. Now this hotel has at all times a lot of fans in the lobby asking for pictures with the players from both teams and/or their autographs. Since the group quarterfinals in Vietnam, the Azkals' popularity has grown exponentially to the point that it is astounding. In Hanoi, people on the street recognized the team. Here in Jakarta, they have been besieged by fans.

Yesterday, following the 1-nil loss that snapped a six game unbeaten streak (at least for this tournament), the team went out; first for lunch at the Balay Pinoy, the guest house of the Philippine Consulate here in Indonesia where they hosted a most excellent lunch for the team. Talking to Coach Simon McMenemy about the reception from both sides and especially for the Philippine community, he shook his head first then raved about it: "This is one of the most incredible things I've experienced. The way the people have taken to this team and to the sport is amazing."

Members of the embassy went to watch the game at the Bung Karno and we both have similar stories to tell about the shabby treatment by the home fans. The embassy people who brought along a flag were pelted with stuff from the crowd. The security forces (there were an additional 3,000 police detailed at the venue owing to the presence of the Indon president), instead of protecting them, told them to put away the flag for their own protection. Security around the bus going to and from the venue was bad. There wasn't any separation between us and the fans that they were pounding on the bus and coming up to the window to give us the finger or spoil for a fight. They even made a lot of noise during the playing of the Philippine national anthem. Seriously, what kind of reception is that? I know they are passionate about their team but they do not have to be rude. Even after the match, it was the same thing. Take a look at this:

However, the reception from the Indonesians at the hotel and in the malls was quite the opposite. Following that fabulous lunch at Balay Pinoy (where I met up with our Indon liaison officer in Jakarta when I was embedded with Smart Gilas), we went to Mangga Dua for some shopping. The team needed to get out and step away from the hotel and the pressure. They sure needed it but they weren't able to move around much because they got mobbed. As Phil Younghusband told the story, "It began with one kid and before we knew it, there were hundreds of people around us." Incredible! Now for the second time, we went to a horrible place. The mall we went to at times resembled the old rundown Virra Mall before turning into those tiangge-type buildings in Recto and Divisoria. Not the Greenhills type because that is so much better. Honestly, it was a SNAFU because it wasn't the best place. Same shit in Hanoi. We went to a place that at times resembled a mausoleum. Now we're staying in the Senaya district where there are lots of nice malls, we should have stayed there and avoided the traffic where we were mired in for an hour and a half. Luckily we had a great driver who maneuvered that bus with the greatest of ease while skillfully not running over anyone. Still, Vietnam was more chaotic when it came to city driving. Here, the traffic was just as horrendous as Bangkok and Manila. 

In the evening, helped my pals TJ Manotoc and Mark Zambrano get their stories. Now today Saturday is going to be the busier one as the team gets back to seriously training for that huge do-or-die match on Sunday. Here's to a busy day.


And you know what's cool here? The Philippine Embassy people following Bleachers' Brew! Wow. Thanks, people.