The games have come to a close, the curtains have dropped and the torch has been passed but the flames of glory will forever be lit – burning and flickering – in gratitude of our Filipino sports heroes.
Hidilyn Diaz, Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial, along with 15 other Filipino Olympians who raised the flag high and proud in the Tokyo Olympics have already returned home – but not without a well-deserved heroes’ welcome accompanied by an abundance of rewards, praises, greetings and tributes.
One of those tributes is the Olympic-inspired bottle of renowned brand Ginebra San Miguel, which has also been behind the fight of the Filipino athletes here and abroad ever since.
The Olympic-themed Ginebra bottle features artworks of the ardent Olympians led by weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who brought home the country’s first-ever gold medal since joining the world’s prestigious sporting event in 1924.
“Our Olympic athletes prepared for this moment their whole lives. The challenges and limitations in training and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic inspired our athletes to persevere and to strive even more despite the uncertainty and threat to their health and safety. This tribute label is our way of recognizing their ‘Bagong Tapang’ and never-say-die spirit,” said Ginebra San Miguel Brand manager Paolo Tupaz.
Diaz, who also won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, was previously featured as among the brand ambassadors in “Ginebra Ako” TV ad campaign in 2019 along with 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, music artists KZ Tandingan and Quest; and Gin Kings ace Scottie Thompson.
This time, it’s one for the books as Diaz cemented her place in the Philippine sports lore as the country’s first Olympic gold medalist, as well as in Ginebra’s legendary bottle line that was originally designed by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo.
Ginebra’s Olympic-designed bottle is only the latest of its reimagined noble features after honoring the COVID-19 pandemic’s frontliners led by doctors and nurses last year.
The said design by Ginebra San Miguel Inc., the world’s largest selling gin company, reaped honors abroad with recognitions from AD STARS Creative Award in Busan, South Korea, and One Club for Creativity in Beijing, China as one of the best creative works in Asia Pacific for 2020.
San Miguel Corp., led by president Ramon Ang, has also gifted a total of P22 million in incentives to the Filipino Olympic medalists bannered by Diaz as the country capped off its best Olympic performance in almost a century.