Philippines looks to youth in Games
Philippines looks to youth in Games
As part of our coverage of the SEA Games, The Jakarta Post
is running a profile of each of the 10 participating
countries. The story below is fifth in the series.
JAKARTA (JP): The Philippines contingent is coming down to the
19th South East Asian Games prepared for all eventualities. The
622 athletes and 302 officials have well over 1,000 face masks
between them.
Fielding the third largest contingent after host Indonesia and
Thailand, the Philippine sportsmen and women are ready not only
to compete in 32 out of 34 events, but to contend with the
possible threat from smog and haze caused by the raging forest
and bush fires in various parts of Indonesia.
"We are bringing in about 1,000 face masks and medicines for
respiratory problems and sore eyes as well," the Philippine
Sports Commission chairman Philip Ella Juico was quoted by
Reuters as saying.
SEA Games officials here, however, say they do not expect
problems from the haze as it has not really affected the city.
Despite the double threat from the smog and the other nine
participating countries, the Philippines is convinced its chances
of seizing more gold medals than two years ago are good.
Maintaining its position among the best three is the squad's
main goal. It means it will have to take home at least the same
amount of gold it collected in the 18th Games in Chiang Mai,
Thailand two years ago.
The Philippines collected 33 golds, 48 silvers and 62 bronzes
in Chiang Mai. The laurels came mostly from its favorite events,
such as track and field, shooting, swimming, fencing, archery,
taekwondo, judo and golf.
This year, the Philippines has sets its sights on winning
between 45 and 60 golds, although Kompas daily quoted some sports
observers here predicting that it would rake up between 50 and 70
golds.
In addition to the above sports, the Philippines is looking to
dig its gold mine in wushu, karate, tenpin bowling, cycling,
basketball and squash. The only sports it is not competing in are
hockey and water skiing.
Taekwondo is expected to give the Philippines at least four
golds, tenpin bowling between four and six, boxing four or five,
cycling two or three and track and field eight.
Newcomers
New faces will head the Philippine's medal winning bid. They
might be less experienced, but some of them, including
lightweight boxer Efren Desierto, male runner Bernardo Desamito
Jr. and male fencer Emerson Segui, have proven their ability to
become their country's future stars.
The Philippines' training has involved preparing many of its
young athletes for the 2001 SEA Games, for which it may be the
host.
They have been intensively trained by both local and foreign
coaches since the end of the Chiang Mai Games in 1995.
Like many of the other competing nations, the Philippines has
both sent its athletes abroad and hired foreign coaches.
But the country is not relying entirely on youth. Many
veterans of previous SEA Games and other international events
will bring experience and a track record of success to the team.
Among the stars are female sprinter Elma Muros, male cyclist
Joselito Santos, billiard legend Marlon Manalo, male lifter Alvin
Delos Santos, male swimmer Raymond Papa, female archer Joan
Tabaniag and world bowling champion Rafael 'Paeng' Nepomuceno.
The Philippines is expecting to face severe challenges from
both Malaysia and Indonesia in many of its favorite sports.
Malaysia is considered the most serious threat in tenpin
bowling and road walking, while Indonesia could prove a major
obstacle in basketball, weightlifting and the track sprints.
(cst)