4 Southeast Asian nations to hold friendship games in GenSan

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Friday, February 17, 2012

MANILA -- General Santos City will host the 7th Brunei-Indonesia Malaysia-Philippines–East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga) Friendship Games slated December 8 to 12, a sports official said Friday.

Among the games to be played are lawn tennis, athletics (track and field), badminton, sepak takraw, swimming, and table tennis, according to Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Commissioner Joaquin Loyzaga.

He added that each country will have separate teams for boys and girls, except for sepak takraw, which will be exclusive for boys.

The event is open to all athletes aged 21 years old and below and must come from the BIMP-Eaga member countries.

“We are advancing our BIMP-Eaga initiatives in this particular area of cooperation to promote the sub-region as a melting pot of sports talents and world class athletes while showcasing our great culture,” Mindanao Development Authority chair Luwalhati Antonino said.

Formed in 1994, the BIMP-Eaga is an economic cooperation covering the entire Brunei Darussalam; 10 provinces in the Indonesian islands of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Irian Jaya; Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan in Malaysia; and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines.

The Asean sub-grouping is a mechanism primarily intended to spur development in the lagging sub-economies of the member countries by boosting intra-Eaga trade, tourism, and investments. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)