Volcanoes make or break; contenders flock Lingayen

The Philippine Volcanoes are poised to make another breakthrough this evening as they face fellow unbeaten rival Sri Lanka at 5:30 p.m. today, the final day of the HSBC Asian Five Nations (A5N) Division I  rugby tournament at the Rizal Memorial football stadium. A victory will catapult the Filipinos into the Premier division, placing them among the top five rugby unions in Asia. 

Going into the tournament, the Filipinos had five of the division’s top 10 scorers from 2011, led by Justin Coveney and Oliver Saunders, who had scored 20 (four tries) and 19 (eight conversions and a penalty) points, respectively, in 2011. Coveney was tied with Kwang Min Kim of Korea for most tries in the division in 2011. This year’s 15s team had about 10 spots which were tightly contested because of the immense talent level in the pool.

“There are many players who could have been on this team who didn’t make it for one reason or another,” admitted injured former Volcanoes captain Chris Everingham. “Just two years ago, you could have handpicked the team. Now, everybody tries out, and their spot is not assured.”

Wednesday against a lighter opponent in first-time Division I team Chinese Taipei, the Volcanoes played without wing Patriice Olivier and flanker Chris Hitch, who were both nursing minor leg injuries. Head coach Expo Mejia said he would use the opportunity to rest the two and use more of the bench in preparation for Sri Lanka. 

The Philippines and Sri Lanka have identical two-win, no-loss slates, and have even scored the exact same number of points in the tournament so far. But the Volcanoes have allowed more points than the Sri Lankans, which would have given the visitors the advantage in case of a tie. But since the winner of tonight’s match sweeps the tournament outright, that will not be a factor.

For the first time, a round-robin format is being played. Traditionally, the top team played the bottom-ranked team and the two middle teams faced off, with the winner fighting for the tournament title. That would have meant number one seed Sri Lanka facing newcomer Chinese Taipei and the Philippine a third versus second-ranked Singapore, which is what happened on opening day. Nevertheless, the results are still the same. Sri Lanka is dying to get back into the Premier Division after losing their massive forward line and replacing their head coach just weeks ago. In terms of physical ability, both teams are evenly matched, with the Philippines holding an advantage in agility and teamwork. Our national team has, incidentally, always played with multiple pairs of brothers. The current 15s team has three: team captain Michael Letts and scrum half and 7s captain Jake Letts; fly half Oliver Saunders and center Matt Saunders; and wing Joseph Matthews and reserve Luke Matthews.

And the Volcanoes are playing in front of family and friends on their home pitch, which makes all the difference in the world.

ABS-CBN will be broadcasting the final day of the HSBC A5N live via Studio 23 and The Filipino Channel.

* * * *

Athletes and officials from Palawan totaling 278 athletes and officials arrived in Lingayen, Pangasinan ahead of all other contingents vying in the 2012 Palarong Pambansa which begins on May 6. Department of Education officials from Region IV-B originally announced that they would arrive a week later, but decided that the extra time would help their athletes get used to the different venues and heat before the rest of their competitors arrive. 

“So far so good; it appears that Pangasinan is well-prepared to host, and we are happy for this opportunity to visit the province,” said Amando Gundam, head of the Palawan and Puerto Princesa City delegation.

Pangasinan first hosted the Palarong Pambansa in 1995, when current Governor Amado Espino was still PNP Provincial Director and tasked with building the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center (NRSCC) just in time for the national games. Since winning the bid to host the Palaro in November, Espino has kept busy renovating the various facilities in the complex, and building new venues. A total of over 10,000 grade school and high school student-athletes from the country’s 17 regions will converge on Lingayen and other venues and compete in archery, arnis, badminton, athletics, baseball, basketball, boxing (high school only), chess, football, gymnastics, sepak takraw/sipa, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and volleyball. 

The provincial government, which has labeled this edition of the Games as the “benchmark Palaro” has spent much of its resources guaranteeing the comfort and safety of the athletes by renovating the various schools that will house them, building additional toilets and showers, installing screens in all classroom windows, and assigning PNP officers and even provincial board members to supervise the security at each venue. 

Espino has also made plans to keep the NRSCC from becoming a white elephant. The provincial will use the various facilities as the home for a massive sports academy and training center, using the momentum and attention generated by the Palarong Pambansa to build a lasting venue to upgrade the skills of our young athletes.