Herrera fires off Team Phl campaign

PALEMBANG, Indonesia – Trackster Rene Herrera tries to set the tone for Team Philippines’ Southeast Asian Games campaign today when he competes in the 3,000m steeplechase as competitions start in earnest on various fronts at the Gelora Srivijaya stadium and the Jakarta national stadium.

Herrera goes for his fifth gold since 2003 while teammate Hernane Sore hopes to be close enough to the record of the four-time champion when he debuts in the event, one of five the Filipinos are entered in the 46-gold medal competition.

Henry Dagmil, whose record of 7.87 meters since the 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima SEA Games remains in the books, failed in his gold medal quest in 2009 because of injury but he hopes to get back on the podium to make up for his bronze medal finish two years back.

Team manager Maricor Pacheco, taking over from Go Teng Kok, who is here but can go only as far as the gates of the Athletes Village following his ouster from the POC, is also fielding in 30-year-od Benigno Marayag, who hopes to make a silver or bronze with his mark of 7.49m. Others seeing action today are Rosalie Sermona in the hammer throw, Julius Nierras and Archand Christian Bagsit in the 400m heats and Eliezer Sunang in the shotput.

Sheila Mae Perez, whose gold medals feats in diving since 2005 remained unsurpassed, hopes to add another to her collection when she competes in the 3m springboard. With her in the event is upcoming Ceseil Domenios.

Aiming to dive to the top in the 10m platform event are Jaime Asok, Dxismen’ Dumagut and Ryan Rexel Fabriga.

A new bunch of swimmers will put their power to the test in five events this morning. They are Jose Joaquin Gonzales and Banjo Borja in the 400m individual medley, taking the place of the now-retired Miguel Molina, Jasmine Alkaidi in the 200m freestyle, Borja and Dhi Andrson Lee in the 200m breaststroke, and Lee and Johansen Aguilar in the 50m butterfly.

Asian Games champions Dennis Orcollo and Warren Kiamco start their gold medal campaign in 8-balls, while Luis Saberdo and Felipe Tauro Jr. try get into the medal rounds in the English billiard singles where the Thais have a tremendous advantage.

The artistic gymnastics team of newly installed gymnastics president Cynthia Carreon, a former PSC commissioner and sports tourism executive of the Philippine Tourism Authority, try to make the best out of their training under local and foreign coaches when they compete in the men’s individual qualifying in team competition. They are Jean Nathan Monteclaro and twin brother Christian Sean Monteclaro, Fortunato Abad, Reyland Capellan and Jayfranz Villegas.

Tac Padilla, competing for a record 17th time, goes for his sixth gold in what could be his last parting shot in 34 years as a national champion when he takes aim in the 25m standard pistol.

Attention will also be on 16-year-old Jayson Valdez, the fast-rising star from the development pool, who tries to step out of the shadows of his father, national shooter Julius, when he takes his mark in the 10m air rifle.

Emerito “Mae” Concepcion, the unsinkable veteran of Philippine shooting, aims for glory in the 40m rifle prone.

The softball team also takes to the diamond field, but its opponent will not be known until after the manager’s meeting.

The national bridge team will make its bid for one of the nine gold medals which Indonesia has introduced for the first time, believing its men’s and women’ teams can beat all comers and sweep all the gold medals at stake.

Experience may be on the Indonesians’ side, but not talent, which the Philippine team also has in abundance. The team is a mix of mathematicians and logicians – two of them mathematicians, one a statistics expert schooled in the laws of probability, a lawyer, a school teacher, a doctor, and a few businessmen – whose passion for the game they carried with them well into retirement. The two youngest and 26-year-olds while the two oldest in the group are way past their 70s.

The events on tap are men’s and women’s pairs and mixed pairs.

Competing in the men’s team qualifying are George Soo, Jehran Chua, Ceferino Carreon Jr., Romulo Virola, Jimmy Soo and Francisco Alquiros. Those on the women’s team are Gemma Mariano-Tan, Victoria Egan, Mylene Encontro, Rosemarie Unson, Sylvia Alejandro and Mary Cristy Ann de Guzman.

The chess team, composed of five grandmasters led by super-GM Wesley So, will pit talents against the very young wizards of Vietnam in a competition made more exciting from the spectators’ seats with the introduction of blindfold chess, a test of speed, memory and against-the-clock analysis.

Competing in rapid blindfold event are GMs Rogelio Antonio and John Paul Gomez while So and Oliver Barbosa, who only two weeks ago earned his third and last GM norm, will push the pawn for the gold in the individual standard chess. Also in action in the mixed team standard chess, which goes through the first two rounds today, are So, Barbosa with Catherine Perena and Rulp Ylem Jose.

Over in Jakarta and in West Java, the Philippines opens its campaigns in cycling, taekwondo, karatedo, pencak silat, archery and badminton.

Nineteen gold medals will be disputed in the day outside of the main hub in Palembang but the Filipinos will only take a shot at eight.

Mountain bike downhill rider Joey Barba chases a third SEAG gold while the taekwondo jins look to strike gold through the poomsae team of Rani Ann Ortega, Francesca Camille Alarilla and Ma. Carla Janice Lagman, poomsae pair of Vidal Marvin Gabriel and Shaneen Ched Sia, -62kg bet Maria Camille Manalo and -74kg fighter Jeffrey Figueroa.

The others vying for gold are kata artists Orencio James delos Santos and Racquel Luzarez.

Alleth Guballo and Julomar Abdulhakim play in the elimination round of pencak silat and so do Randell Reginald Raymundo, Eernesto Flores III, Jason Luengo, Doyle Spencer Mateo, Richard Osal, Robina Pascual, and Jill Nataline Irene Lopez in paragliding.