Sunday, June 24, 2007 MOA’s dad blasts Milo By Marian C. Baring Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THE new rules handed down by the Milo Little Olympics rattled more cages than expected.
After the Greater Cebu Sports Organizing Committee expressed its dismay, a member of the tennis community is also in an uproar about it.
Tennis coach Jess Lagman and father of Cebu tennis sensation Jacob said he disapproves of the new rule that bars those who have competed internationally in the Milo Little Olympics, which is set to take place two months from now.
Milo organizer Ricky Ballesteros contends that athletes who have competed abroad already have higher levels of skills and that Milo is only trying to develop new athletes by not having better athletes overshadow them all the time.
“We want to give chances to those upstarts to shine, to win to be on top,” said Ballesteros in an earlier interview.
“I do not understand it. What would happen to these kids who are working hard and training hard for Milo,” said Lagman.
Lagman said Cebu has a huge pool of good athletes and this development will only demoralize them.
“These kids look forward to Milo. They just don’t prepare for it one week before it starts but they practice regularly,” Lagman said.
Chances
Lagman also said that while Jacob and even the Siso siblings— Sally Mae and Bernardine Niño—have high potentials and are international campaigners, it does not mean that all the others who competed out of the country already have skills higher than regular players.
“What about Jessica (Lagman, his daughter). She played in the International Children’s Games, but she just started playing tennis. And she is disqualified to join Milo?” Lagman said.
Jacob has campaigned in many international competitions and is in fact preparing for a stint in Korea next month, therefore jeopardizing his chances of defending his crown.
“If their decision is already final, then I guess we will have to skip Milo because Jacob will play in Korea,” the older Lagman said.
