POC: PSC must fund 386-man Team RP

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Olympic Committee yesterday made a last-minute appeal to the Philippine Sports Commission to fund not just the 200 members of the RP delegation to next month’s SEA Games in Laos the PSC earlier approved but the rest of the 386-man contingent the POC recently submitted to the Laos SEAG Organizing Committee.

The final list, submitted to the LAGOC last Tuesday, is composed of 251 athletes and 135 officials, or nearly twice the number the PSC had earlier agreed to support.

Swimming’s Mark Joseph, the acting POC secretary-general, however, said the list should “supersede any list previously circulated by unauthorized parties” since the responsibility for naming the official members of the RP team rests solely on the national sports associations (NSAs).

After earlier vowing to look for sponsorships to raise funds for the rest of the athletes not included in the PSC roster, the POC this time wants the PSC to shoulder the expenses of the entire delegation.

“We have asked the PSC to fund all the members of the Philippine team, based on the selections made by each NSA in accordance with POC’s criteria,” said Joseph.

This came after POC spokesman Joey Romasanta announced that they’re close to raising the needed P5 million fund to finance the trip of those who are not in the PSC list.

Romasanta, in fact, said Cojuangco has already came up with 75 percent of the funds for the remaining athletes from private sponsors.

“He (Cojuangco) is very confident that we will have the funds,” said Romasanta.

Aquatics will field in the most number of athletes with 34 – 16 in swimming, 13 in water polo and five in diving while athletics comes in second with 20.

Miguel Molina, a quadruple gold medal winner in the 2007 Thailand Games, spearheads the country’s campaign at the pool along with US-based Ryan Arabejo and Fil-Ams Daniel Coakley, Erica Totten and James and Robert Walsh while Shiela Mae Perez leads the diving team.

Athletics, which vowed to deliver six golds, will be headed by SEA Games record holders Arnel Ferrera (hammer throw) and Henry Dagmil (long jump) as well as fellow SEAG gold medal winners Marestella Torres (long jump), Christabel Martes and Eduardo Buenavista (marathon).

Taekwondo, a consistent gold medal producer in past SEA Games, is fielding in 16, including Beijing Olympics veterans Tshomlee Go and Toni Rivero.

Billiards and snookers have 15 athletes, headed by pool legend Efren “Bata” Reyes, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano and reigning World 10-ball titlist Rubilen Amit.

Sepak takraw, a long shot for a gold medal in Laos, has curiously enlisted 14, while cycling, which snatched four golds in Thailand, will send 13, including reigning gold medalists Marites Bitbit, Joey Barba and Aflie Catalan.

Ageless warrior John Baylon will lead the 11-man judo squad while Beijing Olympics veteran Harry Tañamor and Annie Albania, the country’s lone gold medalist in Thailand who recently won a gold in the Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, head the 10-man boxing team.

The country is also fielding a team in wrestling (11), shooting (11), petanque (11), wushu (9), muay (9), archery (9), beach volley (8), karatedo (8), lawn tennis (8), weightlifting (8), table tennis (7), pencak silat (7), golf (7) and badminton (5).

Interestingly, Fil-Ams Cecil Mamiit and Threat Huey are teaming up again to help the country win another gold medal in tennis while Maricris Fernandez-Gentz, the 1999 Brunei SEA Games gold medalist, has come out of retirement to lead the ladies squad.

While the PSC is batting for a delegation made up of gold and silver medalists in the last SEAG, the POC has included young athletes for exposure.

In fact, the POC said 34 of the final roster make up the youth squad who have to potential to win in the future, if not in Laos.

“There should be a steady stream of athletes (coming from the youth ranks),” said Romasanta. “It should be an assembly line. We should generate as much interest in the youth in some sports.”

Athletics chief Go Teng Kok earlier expressed confidence that the RP athletes will finish strong this time after a woeful sixth place finish in Thailand in 2007.

“We could win a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 60 gold medals in Laos, which should be enough for us to finish third,” he said. “We’re looking at track and field, swimming and billiards as our main sources of gold medals. Taekwondo and boxing should be strong too.”

The country fielded in 680 athletes, or three times the country is sending this year, in the 2007 SEAG, but won only 42 gold medals and finished a disappointing sixth.