LEILA'S TEARS

****

Last weekend, I saw a second lady cry at the victory stands. Leila Barros was her name. I almost cried again.

But unlike Dorothy, Leila was already a superstar when she cried a river.

Overwhelmed by emotion over the unflagging spirits of Filipino fans to toss a kind of adulation never seen hereabouts in a long, long time, Leila broke down after winning the Most Popular Player award.

She just couldn't believe that everybody gravitated to her the way a crowd would to a rock queen like Madonna in a sold-out concert.

She was with 47 other equally ravishing ladies from Cuba, Russia, Brazil and China at the center of the arena during the awarding ceremonies. Yet, it seemed like the 10,000 or so fans who jam-packed Philsports had only eyes for her.

It was as if a goddess had descended from heaven.

But while Leila Barros won the hearts and minds of a sports crowd that usually applauds hysterically only once in two decades (the last time out was on Oct. 1, 1975, during the Ali-Frazier fight), the bigger winner was none other than the invisible guy named Mr. Image.

Mr. Image as in the Philippines not really a haven of bandits but a heaven inhabited by peace-loving, sports-loving folk.

Mr. Image as in the Philippines not really the ''hostage capital'' of the world but the ''hosting capital'' of the world.

For indeed, it's time to breast-beat, fellas. We did so well again in hosting a world-class sporting event that not even a minor hitch marred the return of Leila Barros and the World Volleyball Grand Prix to our shores.

Praise when praise is due and so, here's a glass to Jinggoy Estrada, the real invisible man behind all that success in the Grand Prix, behind all that Leila hysteria. As the hardworking chair of the organizing committee, Jinggoy worked night and day to make sure everything fell into place. Surely, it is mostly the case that real heroes of a blockbuster event aren't toasted to high heavens. Jinggoy was one of the heroes-the biggest hero, actually--whom you never knew made it happen, made Leilamania another reality.

There's a term for this: Unsung hero.