RP-Asian Games candidate-athletes named

THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) painted a rosy picture for the country’s medal prospects in the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China after the recent announcement of the candidate-athletes.

The roster include two Olympian tankers, two Filipino-American netters, an experienced karateka, a wonder teenage chess player, a reigning cue artist, a former world bowling champion, two world taekwondo jins, and seasoned chess masters who will lead the 187 candidate-athletes expected to deliver the goods for the country in the continental tourney.

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The quadrennial meet is slated from November 12 to 27 wherein the Philippines will participate in 35 out of 42 sporting events.

“This is the initial list, there are more to come," said PSC chairman Harry Angping. “Some of the national sports associations have not submitted their lineup yet."

The PSC’s Asian Games pool consists of athletes from athletics (10), karatedo (10), rowing (5), shooting (8), triathlon (3), windsurfing (4), sailing (7), soft tennis (11), archery (1), judo (4), dance sports (12), bowling (12), women’s basketball (15), lawn tennis (4), teakwood (16), rugby football (12), weightlifting (3), dragon boat men and women (50).

The agency named 13 of them as members of the elite pool which include the following: Olympian swimmers Miguel Molina and Daniel Coakley, Davis cuppers and Southeast Asian Games tennis gold medalists Cecil Mamiit and Treat Huey, Asian Championship karatedo bronze medalist Marna Pabillore, 16-year-old chess Grandmaster Wesley So, reigning world women’s 10-ball queen Rubilen Amit, 2006 world bowling champion Biboy Rivera, two-time taekwondo Olympians Mary Antoinette Rivero and Tshomlee Go, and Grandmasters Joey Antonio and Darwin Laylo.

Earlier, both the PSC and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) repeatedly mulled of sending a lean but mean 50-man delegation for the Asian Games, which are expected to reap between 7 to 10 gold medals.

Under the PSC’s new allowance scheme, elite players will receive a monthly stipend of P20,000 plus intensive foreign training and exposure.

Other members of the pool will get P15,000 monthly allowance and overseas exposure.

Angping however said the PSC has the exclusive right to terminate the support if the athletes failed to perform well in trainings and exposures.

In the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, the Philippines won four gold medals, two in boxing and one each in billiards and wushu. The athletes also bagged four silver and bronze medals each.

The country’s best Asian Games performance came in the second edition held here in 1954 with 14 gold medals, second only to Japan’s 38.

In a related development, the agency also approved the inclusion in the training pool of SEA Games champion taekwondo jins Alexander Briones and John Paul Lizardo and GMs Eugene Torre and Mark Paragua.

Same opportunity was given to swimmers Ryan Arabejo, Charles Walker, Kendrick Uy and Jhessie King Lacuna, who will get P15,000 a month each, and Erica Totten and Jasmine Al-Khaldi, who will each receive P8,000 a month. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)