It could’ve been 8 golds

MANILA, Philippines — POC chairman Rep. Bambol Tolentino recently shared a dream he had before the start of the Asian Games in Indonesia and said if the stars were more aligned, the Philippines could’ve harvested eight golds instead of four.

“My dream was we would take four golds,” said Tolentino. “I hoped my dream wouldn’t come true because I felt we could win more. In the end, I think we could’ve brought home eight golds. We finished with four but ju-jitsu and boxing could’ve delivered four more golds.” Tolentino said the extra golds should’ve come from three-time world ju-jitsu champion Meggie Ochoa and three boxers, two of whom were unceremoniously booted out in the semifinals via disputed split 3-2 decisions.

Ochoa settled for the bronze in the women’s newaza 49-kilogram division. She struck gold at the 2016 Asian Beach Games in Danang, the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan and the Grand Slam World Tour in London last March. In the Asian Games, she was upset in the quarterfinals and eventually, took the bronze. In boxing, middleweight Eumir Marcial and lightflyweight Carlo Paalam were victimized in the semifinals by bum verdicts. Another fighter Nesthy Petecio, campaigning in the women’s featherweight division, was also a gold medal hope but was robbed in the preliminaries.

If the Philippines hit paydirt in eight events, it would’ve tied Hong Kong in the gold standard and ranked No. 14 in the medal race. As it turned out, the Philippines wound up No. 19 with four gold, two silver and 15 bronze medals. The haul was the biggest in 16 years.

“It was our best showing after Busan in 2002 (total was 26 medals),” said Tolentino. “It was certainly better compared to the previous administration, even the incentives received by the athletes were bigger. I suggest that instead of playing politics, the underperforming NSAs should just move on, accept reality, focus on preparing for big events ahead and concentrate on their respective NSAs. Or are they just diverting attention for not delivering in the Asian Games?”

Tolentino said with the new order in the POC and PSC, things are looking up. “Count on my full support for POC president Ricky Vargas,” he said. “Now, we’ve seen the big change in the sports community.”

Tolentino said the Philippines failed to collect a single medal in athletics and swimming. “Our performance in athletics and swimming was a big disappointment,” he said. Swimming had 41 gold and 123 total medals at stake while 48 gold and 145 total medals were up for grabs in athletics. The Philippines couldn’t make a dent in either medal-rich sport.

“We were also blanked in bowling, shooting and archery,” he said. “I noticed that most of the NSAs that failed to deliver are bogged down by leadership issues and I think those problems affected the performance of their athletes.” 

A contender touted to land on the podium was 18-year-old gymnast Carlos Yulo but his best finish was fourth in vault. His inexperience was evident when he made a late change in his floor routine, causing a falter. Yulo, however, is expected to bounce back and make a strong charge in bidding to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Tolentino is headed for a meeting with Southeast Asian Games Federation officials in Bangkok on Sept. 29 to discuss the sports calendar in next year’s SEA Games. “We’re reviewing which sports to add to the initial list of 30 approved by the SEA Games Federation Council,” he said. “Equestrian may not be included because it will take at least P50 Million to lay out the grounds. We’re not sure about contract bridge although the Indonesian millionaire (Michael Hartono) is offering to send us an expert coach to prepare our players even six months before the competition. We had four bronzes in pencak silat in the Asian Games but how sure are we that those four bronzes will be golds in the SEA Games?” 

For the record, Indonesia bagged 14 golds in 16 pencak silat events and four bronzes in six contract bridge events in the Asian Games. “We’re definitely bringing in arnis and dancesport to the SEA Games,” Tolentino said, referring to two sports where the Philippines has a strong chance to dominate. “In basketball, we’re thinking of six events, 5x5 and 3x3 for youth, elite and women. We hope to be competitive and gold contenders in as many events as possible.”