Garcia predicts seven-gold haul

MANILA, Philippines - Just days before he flew to Incheon, the chef-de-mission of the Philippine delegation was asked about his gold medal projection for the 17th Asian Games.

Richie Garcia gave a straight answer. He picked the lucky number.

“Pito (seven),” said Garcia, who will be wearing two hats in Incheon, the other one as chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission.

In previous interviews, Garcia kept his cards close to his chest, and was safe with his answers each time he was asked to issue a medal forecast.

“Personally I don’t have any (prediction). It’s really hard to predict,” he said.

That was then.

Because in the months that passed, after he got his appointment as chef-de-mission from Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco, he must have seen something positive.

“We gave our athletes all they needed in training. And they responded well to the training,” he said.

In his meetings with the various NSAs (national sports associations), it became clear where the country could source its medals in this Asian Games.

In the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, the Philippines pocketed three gold, four silver and nine bronze medals. The victories came from the “Three Bs” (boxing, billiards and bowling).

Garcia said the absence of billiards in this year’s calendar stripped the Philippines of one good and legitimate source of medals in Incheon,

But there are others that are ready to step up, and Garcia is hoping that he’s hearing the right things.

The Asian Games task force, made up of officials from the PSC and the POC, came up with its own medal projections.

Expectations are high in boxing, bowling, BMX, golf, taekwondo, weightlifting, windsurfing, wushu and of course, men’s basketball.

Therefore, it may be safe to say that the Philippines can surpass the three gold medals of 2010.

“I think we can surpass that. That’s the target. That’s the goal,” said the chief of the government’s funding arm in sports.

He said he would be “disappointed” if the Filipino athletes can only match the output four years ago.

“We should do better than that,” he said.

Garcia flew to Incheon a week ago with the lucky number in his mind.

It’s seven.