The biggest show in the Philippines

That is how Tourism Chief Roberto “Obet” Pagdanganan would like to call the 23rd Southeast Asian Games the Philippines will host next year.

Filipinos and visitors from the SEA region, said Pagdanganan, after he was named chairman of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Philsoc), would be treated next year to an event never seen before in the country.

Philsoc, the group responsible for managing the games, will have its war room at the PICC on Vito Cruz, an ideal spot because it is accessible to officials of the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee.

The Manila SEA Games Organizing Committee was formed only a few months before the 1991 event. Philsoc has around 16 months to get the job done this time. It is thus confident that the coming event will be a lot bigger and more successful.

Roberto Pagdanganan

Nothing is being left to chance. Philsoc is in fact spending from P400 to P500 million, with 25 percent sourced from the private sector, to ensure success of the games. After all, the event is a very effective tool to promote the country.

First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo has pledged P20 million, with P5 million already handed over to the PSC. In the Vietnam games, a foundation he controlled raised more than P22 million for the 85 Filipino athletes.

PSC Chairman Eric Buhain said the money has been deposited to a bank and will be withdrawn for the support of athletes when they start training. A former multiple gold winner in the SEA Games himself, he hopes the country’s athletes would win the overall championship this time.

The Philippines fell one gold medal and a few silvers short of the crown in 1991.

“We don’t foresee any problems,” said Pagdanganan. “Our facilities may not be as good as the newly built stadiums in Vietnam, but we will be able to manage the games well.”

“Nandiyan ang mga venues, although kailangan nating ayusin ng kaunti. At ang maganda pa may plano tayong i-decentralize ang competition. We are tapping Subic and Cebu for some games, with Manila remaining the hub. Malaking tulong ang decentralization para ma-promote ang buong bansa."

Malaysia held the 2001 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, with Seremban and Johor Baru serving as satellite venues. In 2003, Vietnam held the games in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.

“We’re glad to host the SEAGames,” noted Pagdanganan. “It would be nice if we could beat our rivals as well.”

That is the job of the PSC and the Philippine Olympic Committee.

16 Filipinos qualify for Athens Olympics

From August 13 to 29, thousands of athletes from different countries around the world will converge in Athens for the biggest multi-sporting event with a few good men and women from the Philippines hoping to grab a share of the limelight.

Five swimmers, four boxers, three taekwondo jins, two track athletes, one archer, and one shooter will comprise the RP national squad. And some of them do have a good chance of bagging the elusive gold and silver medals.

Donald David Geisler III, who saw action in the Asian aekwondo Qualification tournament in Thailand, is one of the most promising athletes.

A product of the University of Santo Tomas, he won a gold in the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam. He wore the national colors in the Sydney Olympics. Now 25 years old, he is confident he’ll make the country proud.

Another taekwondo artist, Tshomlee Cabanos Go, will participate in the games, fighting in the under 58kg division. At 23, Go is one of the youngest in the squad.

Sixteen-year-old Mary Antoinette Rivero, the only female in the group, likewise shows a lot of promise, having come home with a gold from the Vietnam Games in 2003 and from the US Open in Las Vegas the year before. She fights in the over 57kg class.

It took three qualifying events before light flyweight Harry Tañamor could claim a slot in the contingent. But the veteran of many international tournaments, who won the country’s only boxing silver medal in the Asian Games in 2002, took the ordeal in good stride. Despite controversial losses in the Palawan and China qualifying rounds, the feisty fighter gathered himself up and finally made the grade in the Greenhill Cup in Pakistan.

Middleweight Christopher Camat, flyweight Violito Payla, and light welterweight Romeo Brin earned their tickets to Athens with their first try early this year, wowing the crowd at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum in the Asian Boxing Championship.

Camat ensured his entry into the quadrennial meet by bagging the silver medal. Payla and Brin went all the way, crowning themselves Asian champions. It will be the first trip to the Olympics for the former and the third for the latter.

Miguel Molina and Miguel Mendoza were also included in the RP squad. And so were Fil-Ams James Bernard Walsh and Jaclyn Pangilinan, who met the qualifying standards in the US swimming competition.

Timmy Chua, the latest addition, almost didn’t make it. Sports officials were miffed by his failure to inform them of his plans to compete in the Hong Kong Long Course Swimming Championship in July. He clocked 1 minute, 4.93 seconds in the 100m breaststroke in that event, better than the qualifying time of 1:05.02, but they threatened to exclude him unless he apologize.

Chairman Eric Buhain of the Philippine Sports Commission, however, took his side, saying athletes are bred to compete, not to suffer humiliation. Chua apologized nonetheless. Lerma Bulauitan-Gabito, Southeast Asia’s reigning long jump queen, and Eduardo Buenavista are the representatives of the game in the female and male divisions. Archer Jasmin Figueroa and shooter Jethro Dionisio will see action as wildcards.

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