THE country’s sepak takraw team is well equipped to shoot for glory in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, 2019.
Following several training camps abroad and participation in prestigious international tournaments, the Filipino sepak takraw athletes are confident of delivering the goods in the biennial meet.
Leading the charge for the Philippines are Jason Huerte, Cebuano Rheyjey Ortouste, Mark Joseph Gonzales and Ronsted Gabayeron.
“I’d say that this is by far the most thorough, well planned and most funded campaign of our NSA (national sports association) in the recent years,” said Pilipinas Sepak Takraw Association, Inc. president Karen Tanchanco-Caballero.
“From the team composition, coaching staff, international training camps and foreign coaches plus several international exposure competitions, we have exhausted whatever support we can give to the PH Team to give them a strong fighting chance for golds in the SEA Games,” she added.
Right after their campaign in Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia, both the men’s and women’s squads set up camp in South Korea and Thailand for a few months before joining several leagues in Thailand to fine-tune their skills and get their competitive juices flowing.
“We went to train with several strong clubs in Thailand as part of our training camp and exposure (to actual tournaments). We also trained with Team Korea,” said Tanchanco-Caballero.
Six golds are at stake in the SEA Games – 4 in men’s and 2 in women’s – with the Philippine team joining all of them.
The Philippines placed fourth in the sepak takraw overall standings of the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games with two silvers and two bronzes. Thailand emerged as the overall champ with six golds and a silver. (RSC)