POC reaffirms SEA Games backing for Obiena

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino has reiterated his earlier pronouncement that he would endorse Olympian pole-vaulter EJ Obiena to compete in the Hanoi Southeast Asian Games set May 12 to 23 even without the blessing of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association.

“Yes, he (Obiena) will be in the Hanoi SEA Games,” Tolentino told The STAR on Friday.

The congressman from Tagaytay’s statement came a few days after PATAFA president Philip Ella Juico confirmed Obiena is no longer part of the national team that the former Philippine Sports Commission chairman endorsed to represent the country in the biennial event.

The decision came after PATAFA accused Obiena of allegedly falsifying liquidations to Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov, which the World No. 5 has repeatedly denied.

And that is despite the fact that Tolentino believed Obiena would be a surefire bet to grab the gold medal in the Hanoi Games and the Hangzhou Asian Games slated Sept. 10-25 being the owner of both the SEA Games record of 5.45m and the Asiad mark of 5.93m.

“Looking at EJ’s 5.45 meters in winning gold in the 2019 SEA Games and his present numbers, it’s definitely a big leap for him,” said the congressman from Tagaytay. “If the SEA [Southeast Asian] Games and even the Asian Games are held now, EJ will easily sweep the gold medals in both competitions.

“It’s crystal clear, EJ is a guaranteed gold winner in both,” he added.

Obiena has also recently shown his readiness to compete in Hanoi and Hangzhou after topping two meets recently — the Orlen Cup and Orlen Copernicus Cup in Lodz and Torun, Poland where he posted his season-best 5.81m.

“How many more gold medals should EJ win for him to be reinstated in the national pool? The people just can’t wait long enough for a national athletic treasure to be ignored,” said Tolentino.