Alex Eala says she associates a lot of her childhood memories with Manny Pacquiao, โWhen he would have fights, it would really be like holidays in the Philippines. We would gather and we would watch his fights. People would call off workโ
โYouโve spoken a lot about Rafa Nadalโs influence on you. But Iโm curious about the Filipino athletes you maybe looked up to?โ
Alex: โOf course the kind of national hero in sports in the Philippines is Manny Pacquiao. He is the kind of first global athletic figure from the Philippines who I can remember and associate a lot of my childhood memories with. When he would have fights, it would really be like holidays in the Philippines. We would gather and we would watch his fights. And it would be, like, people would call off work. It would really be event. He is someone super inspiring as an athlete.โ
Alex: โIn recent years, Hidilyn Diaz, who won the first Olympic gold medal for the Philippines is a huge inspiration. That moment was incredible. Of course Carlos Yulo in the most recent Olympics won two gold medals. Amazing. EJ Obiena is the pole vaulter. Heโs a good friend of my family and he likes tennis. So yeah there are so many people. I feel like the Filipinos have such great work ethic. We are really hard workers. When it counts, we can show up.โ
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