Philippines begins SEAG battle plan

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine chef de mission to the 31st Hanoi Southeast Asian Games Ramon Fernandez and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino will meet on Friday to chart the course of the country’s campaign in the biennial meet.

“We will have a face-to-face meeting to discuss everything about the SEAG so that we can start preparation as soon as possible,” said Fernandez, who planned in last week from Cebu City to start work on the country’s campaign in the meet set November 21 to December 2.

The Philippine Sports commissioner and four-time PBA MVP said among his priorities as CDM are getting government approval for the resumption of training and finding the budget for the Hanoi-bound delegation.

Fernandez has yet to release a timetable as to when the training for SEAG would start but he is hoping it could be soon.

“The focus for now is our Olympic athletes and hopefully our SEAG team will be allowed next,” he said.

Fernandez said they would use the same formula implemented in the 2019 edition where the host country took the overall title with a historic performance.

Interestingly, a PSC man in chairman William Ramirez was the CDM when the nation achieved the feat.

And with the proper financial support, Fernandez said there’s a strong chance for at least a top three finish.

“We will know the figures we’re looking at the moment we were briefed on the number of events and the estimated number of athletes we will be sending in Hanoi,” said Fernandez.