Mara Aquino relives her Olympic debut in Tokyo

At 3x3’s Olympic debut, Aquino was live and courtside
Aug 9, 2021
PHOTO: Mara Aquino/Facebook

SHE MAY not have been in Tokyo as an athlete, but Mara Aquino was out there repping the Philippines just the same.

The MPL-PH host, who shot to fame as the face of “Moneyball” during PBA’s halftime show, made her debut as the first Filpina announcer for a sport in the biggest sporting event in the world. And if the athletes brought home gold, silver, and glory for the country, Aquino is also happy to have made the country proud in her own way.

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“[T]he feeling na you get to take your experience to the world stage, to the Olympics was a totally different feeling all together na parang sasabog yung puso mo,” Aquino said, speaking to SPIN Life after her return to the Philippines.


Clinching her Olympics stint

Aquino is already a familiar face in the 3x3 circuit, having done world tours with Fiba as an emcee, hyping up crowds and giving away prizes — her favorite things to do.

Her career with Fiba 3x3 started back in 2014, when she was chosen to become a host during a pocket tournament held in Robinsons Manila. This caught the eye of executives of the worldwide basketball body, paving the way for even more world tours with them.

In one gig in Japan — held in 2019, before the global lockdowns — the always bubbly Aquino shared that she was even mistaken in Japanese, with the way she got the crowd hyped up.

“[I]t was really just the energy and connecting to people na kahit hindi namin alam yung lengwahe nung isa’t isa, there’s energy,” Aquino said. “Nagustuhan nila what they saw.”

Fiba then recommended her name to the International Olympics Committee. A few months later, Aquino received an email from the Olympics committee asking her if she is interested in working for the Olympics.

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She kept that email a secret, only telling her close friends.

"Wala akong sinabihan and I kept mum about it, people were surprised kasi nandun na ako tapos biglang inannounce ko, ‘Yeah, I’m the announcer for the Olympics’,” she said proudly. “I kept it a long secret.”


Pandemic challenges

At first, Mara expected to do her usual routines of boosting the crowd, getting them ready for the breathless action of 3x3 basketball, which was making its debut as a medal event in Tokyo 2020. But in this most unusual of Olympics, restrictions were soon announced. The 3x3 had to trim its expected audience from 3,500 to, at most, a hundred — mostly limited to VIPs, sponsors, and the families of each athlete.

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Organizers told Aquino that she would no longer emcee. She would now be an announcer, who had to call the play-by-play.

“[It was] the very first time I had to do that, to commentate in the biggest sporting event in the entire world. Given that role, that was such a challenge,” Aquino said.

But she buckled down the only way she knew how: By doing her homework.

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    “[K]ung gusto mo talaga yung job mo, pag-aralan mo lahat so ang biggest lesson ko dito is kung nandun ka sa isang bagay, lalo na kung matagal ka nang nandun pag-aralan mo lahat,” she reflected.

    In Tokyo, Aquino became one of the very few in history who watched the pandemic Olympics live and in person.

    Her favorite moment was definitely the gold medal match between Latvia and Russian Olympic Committee in the men’s 3x3 competition, where the Latvians mounted an epic comeback against the Russians, who led by as much as five points at the half.

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    “Tapos medal ceremony na,” she recalled. “‘Yung makikita ko sa Olympics, ‘yung medal ceremony nila, raising the flag, ‘yung entire ceremony na yun... I think that was my favorite moment.”

    Another favorite moment? When she went up to the mic for the first time and said, “The International Olympic Committee 2021 welcomes you to Japan”

    “Dun ko feel na feel na I’m welcoming people sa Olympics,” Aquino said, still thrilled at the memory.


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    Repping the flag

    In this memorable and historic experience, Aquino is happy to have been given the chance to represent Filipinos on the global stage.

    “I want other countries to recognize Filipino talents. I want to be part of that,” she said.

    The bubbly host, who first made her bones in the sports world as a courtside reporter for the NCAA, has now established herself as a host in the biggest sports stage in the world. She’s looking forward to hosting more sporting events internationally — always repping the Philippine flag.

    The next international stint that awaits? The Mobile Legends world tournament M3, which will be held at the end of the year.

    “[H]opefully there’s gonna be other things, more doors to open and I wanna keep going at that,” Aquino said.

    Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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    PHOTO: Mara Aquino/Facebook
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