After Carlos Yulo, this star from UCLA could be next.
For a country that has seen the likes of Wesley So and Yuka Saso become “the one that got away,” it should be a relief to finally welcome “the ones who could be next.”
There’s NCAA Division 1 standout Vanessa de Jesus, for instance, who has decided to suit up for Gilas Pilipinas Women in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, thus opening the door for more stints with the national team.
Now, there’s gymnast Emma Malabuyo, a standout for the UCLA Bruins and an alternate to the US Olympic team that competed at the Tokyo Olympics.
Two years later, the 20-year-old Fil-Am has made the switch and is now donning the colors of the Philippines at the Asian Gymnastics Championship being held at Singapore. The ongoing competition, which will end on Sunday, also doubles as a qualifier for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp.
From the looks of it, it appears Malabuyo has made the right choice and is having a blast, posting on Instagram pictures of her and her teammates in Singapore with the caption:
“So proud and honored to rep the Philippines with my magandang teammates🇵🇭.”
Evidently, Malabuyo's move to the Philippine team had been brewing for some time now—and was driven by a love for family.
"I'm really excited to compete for them," Malabuyo told Olympics.com back in May. "I'm full Filipino [and] just excited to represent my family. I want to make my grandparents proud."
Malabuyo’s Filipino grandparents would surely be proud of their granddaughter, who had previously given up gymnastics at the national level after the Tokyo Olympics.
"I was actually approached with this idea by Cliff Parks, who works with the Filipino national team," Malabuyo recalled on how she got recruited for the Philippine gymnastics team. "At first, I was like, 'I think I'm done with elite.' Then I started really thinking about it, and I was like, 'I'm playing in the gym, I can still do these difficult skills. Like, why not?'"
Yes, Malabuyo is not done being elite. And if it all goes well, she just might give the Philippines some gymnastics hardware moving forward.
That’ll sure make her grandparents even prouder than they already are just seeing young Emma rep the Philippines.