MANILA, Philippines — Pangungunahan ni two-time SEA Games gold medalist Margarito Angana Jr. ang Go For Gold-Philippine national wrestling team na sasabak sa Jagsports Wrestling Championship sa Dec. 6-9 sa Singapore.
Kasama ni Angana Jr. sina Jhonny Morte at Alvin Lobrequito sa nasabing kumpetisyon bilang paghahanda sa 2019 Southeast Asian Games na gaganapin dito sa Pilipinas sa susunod na taon.
Sasabak si Angana sa 61-kilogram men’s freestyle senior event habang si Lobriquito ay sasali sa 57-kgs. at sa 65-kgs. division naman si Morte laban sa mga mabibigat na kalaban mula Uzbekistan, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand at host Singapore.
Ang iba pa sa Philippine team na lalahok sa tatlong araw na kumpetisyon ay sina Royce Tiu (86kg), Ronil Tubog (61kg), Jonathan Maquilan (65kg) at cadet division entry Cadel Hualda (80kg).
“I believe that our wrestlers will do well and continue to prove that we are one of the best in Asia,’’ ani Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go.
Bukod sa wrestling, sinusuportahan din ng Go For Gold ang ibang sports kagaya ng cycling, triathlon, sepak takraw, skateboarding at dragonboat.
“We need to expose our wrestlers to this kind of tournament if we want to achieve something in the 2019 SEA Games,’’ ani naman ni Go For Gold project director Ednalyn Hualda na dati ring miyembro ng national women’s wrestling team.
Sinabi naman ni national team coach Efrelyn Crosby na malaking tulong para sa buong koponan ang kanilang overseas exposure.
“This is part of our year-long preparation for the 2019 SEA Games. The more tournaments that we participate in, the better for our wrestlers,’’ ayon kay Crosby.