Kaunting atleta, pero mas maraming medalya

Ito ang ibig na mangyari ni Philippine Sports Commission chairman Carlos Tuason sa mga ipapadalang Filipino athletes na lalahok kontra sa mga mahuhusay na rehiyon sa Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games sa September.

"I strongly favor sending a quality team to Kuala Lumpur or what we would call a ‘lean and mean’ delegation to the sportsfest," ani Tuason ng maging panauhin siya sa PSA Forum kahapon sa Holiday Inn Manila.

Kasama ni Tuason na dumalo sa forum na hatid ng Agfa, Red Bull at McDonald’s si Commissioner Amparo "Weena" Lim na nagbigay rin ng kaunting briefing tungkol sa katatapos pa lamang na Third PSC Summer Youth Training Camp na idinaos sa Laoag, Ilocos Norte.

"The public is now sensitive to our performance abroad. They are consious about the gold medals we bring back home since government money--the people’s money--is involved," pahayag pa ni Tuason.

"They might not look too kindly if we win few medals despite sending a big contingent than if we fielded a small team," dagdag pa ni Tuason.

Taliwas sa pahayag noong nakaraang Linggo ni POC president Celso Dayrit na kailangan higitan ng Filipino campaigners ang tinapos na fifth overall ng bansa sa nakaraang Brunei Games, sinabi ni Tuason na naniniwala siya na mas higit pa ang magagawa ng mga atleta kumpara dito.

" I think that Mr. Dayrit was expressing his own personal opinion based on what he knows of the regional sports situation. But I believe that what is very important is to keep the morale of our athletes high so they can deliver for us in Kuala Lumpur," ani pa ni Tuason.