PSC lauds huge number of nat'l bets

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines  – Sports officials expect a good turnout for members of the national team who should spice up the competitions in the POC-PSC National Games that officially opened yesterday at the Freedom Park here.

“We’re happy to note the national team will come in full force,” commissioner Jolly Gomez of the Philippine Sports Commission said during a press conference with PSC chairman Richie Garcia, Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria, and Philippine Olympic Commitee treasurer Julian Camacho.

The organizing PSC has made it mandatory for the nationals to attend the Games, which would have an effect on their status in the team under the government sports body’s payroll.

“The national players should not be complacent and think they won’t be replaced in the team. If they don’t perform, they might lose their spots. We’re treating this as a qualifying event, especially for the kids whom we can consider for the developmental pool,” Garcia said.

Big names like Olympian long jumper Marestella Torres, according to the PSC execs, are registered in this year’s edition. The agency, they added, has also paid for the trips of world pool champs Efren “Bata” Reyes and Dennis Orcollo, although their presence in the billiards hostilities that started last night remained hanging.

“We actually approved the plane fare and accommodation of Dennis and Bata but I don’t know if they’re coming,” Gomez said.

From the looks of things, the participation of the top cuemasters in the PNG is affected by the ongoing controversy in the Billiard Sport Confederation of the Philippines involving the players and president Bong Ilagan.

“The only reason why the fancied players are not in the PNG is because they don’t recognize Ilagan,” billiards manager Perry Mariano said, claiming that only Orcollo and Bustamante are out of the country, in Filipino.

The PSC execs, Sagarbarria and Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, formally declared the 2012 PNG open.

“We have lined up a lot of activities to make the athletes more enthusiastic, make them feel that this is not just sports competiton but some sort of vacation,” said Sagarbarria, encouraging the participants to enjoy today’s Santacruzan festival, too.

Action in 10 sports gets going at various venues today, including arnis at Cosca Gym and volleyball at Silliman U.

Over at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Manila yesterday, the Philippine team beat Philab Los Baños in nine innings, 8-1, to clinch the first semifinal berth in Group A.

Philab, a team composed mostly of ex-nationals, dropped to 3-1 for second spot behind the reigning SEA Games titlist.

PABA EVP and tournament director Ely Baradas, meanwhile, announced that with the Rizal diamond unavailable today due to the Unity Games, they have moved the ILLAM versus Titans match to the Sto. Niño field in Marikina also today at 9 a.m. The two other games – Philab against Phl Youth and Smokey Mountain versus National U, will be played on May 29 at Rizal instead.

Organized by the PSC and the POC, the PNG is sponsored by Smart Communications, Summit Mineral Water, Standard Insurance, TV5, AKTV, 2Go, Cebu Pacific, Accel, Pocari Sweat, Scratch It Instant Tama, SM and Puregold.

NOTES: Athletes from wushu and futsal will hold an outreach program on Friday in Tayasan town, one of the hardest hit by the 6.9 magnitude quake. They will conduct a futsal clinic and donate sports equipment as “our way of showing support and helping the people of Dumaguete and Negros Oriental get back on their feet,” said Gomez.