HAIYANG, China – The Philippine dragon boat team settled for silver medal for the second straight time, unable to overcome the power of Indonesia in the thrilling finale of the 200-meter, 10-man crew race in the third Asian Beach Games yesterday.
Like in the 500m event that the Indonesians won over the Filipinos by mere fractions of a second, the Asian Games champions held their ground in the final stretch to prevail in 43.458 seconds against Phl’s 43.992 and bronze medalist China’s 45.076.
With a take-off that was less than ideal, the Filipinos managed to keep pace with the Indonesians stroke-for-stroke but faded in the last 20 meters, failing to match their qualifying time of 43.183 which would have been enough to nail the first-ever gold medal of Phl in the biennial tournament.
“It was clear that our boys gave their best. Anyway, we have one more chance to reach our goal,” said both chief of mission Chippy Espiritu and National Olympic Committee representative Joey Romasanta, referring to the last endurance race of 3,000 meters set this morning.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco Jr., attending the Executive Council Meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia as special adviser to OCA president Sheik Ahmed Al Sabah, lauded the national dragon boat team’s performance.
“I reiterate my crusade to give our athletes proper nutrition and maintain solid preparations for international competitions such as this. I am very happy that under our watch the athletes-to-medal ratio in international meets have been kept at a very high rate,” said Cojuangco.
He also expressed satisfaction that the two silver-medal haul of the national team assembled by the Philippine Canoe/Kayak Federation also featured the highly-improved times when ranged against those posted by its predecessors even those in so-called World Championships.
During the afternoon meeting with the paddlers, coach Len Escollante called their attention to what seemed as minor details in pre-race decision-making to enhance chances in cashing in on golden opportunities.
“I think we made some bad decisions but I am confident that we can still correct them for the 3,000 race,” she said.
Meanwhile, the 3-on-3 women’s team dropped a sorry 9-10 loss to host China in the semifinal round.
Earlier in the day, the Filipina trio got back at SEA Games tormentor Thailand, 10-9, to make the semis.
The setback dropped the Philippines to the battle for bronze against Mongolia, which lost to India, China’s rival for gold medal contest.
In men and women lead event of sport climbing, all four Filipino entries – Dennis Oliver Diaz, Jason Sauco, Jonathan Feleo and Milky Mae Tejares – advanced to the semifinal round.
The four return to action today for spots in the finals of the bouldering event though their medal chances do not look bright as counterparts from Japan and Korea are strong posted in the top three spots of the qualifying.
The only other team in the delegation – women handball – dropped its final elimination round assignment, third loss in as many matches, against Hong Kong losing 6-11 in the first and 7-14 in the second set.