Filipinos are no cheaters Guardo strongly denies Vietnamese official's 'cheating' allegations

Cebu SEA Games Organizing Committee (CebuSoc) chairman Jonathan L. Guardo yesterday called the allegations made by a high-ranking Vietnamese official that the 23rd SEA Games have been fixed in favor of a Philippine victory as "baseless and unfounded."

"These are unfounded allegations. We have no intention to cheat or to rig the results just for us to win the overall championship," said Guardo in his first official statement since the controversy broke out last week.

In a report by Thanniennews.com, Nguyen Hong Minh, head of the Vietnamese delegation, has leveled a sensational charge that the Philippines has "fixed" with some other nations how many medals each country will end up with.

Minh said he received information that leaders of some delegations to the Games had confidential meetings to 'allot' medals that would have the Philippines finishing with 120 golds, Thailand 90, Indonesia and Vietnam 60-70 each, Malaysia 50-60, Singapore 40, and Myanmar, Brunei and East Timor 30-40.

But Guardo denied Minh's accusations saying the Filipinos are no cheaters, even as he insisted the Philippines is capable of attaining its first ever overall title in the biennial sports conclave given the extensive training undergone by its athletes and the high-morale they have playing at their homeland.

"I believe we have a high chance of claiming our first overall title based on the preparations and the merits of our athletes," said Guardo in a press conference at the CebuSoc secretariat office located inside the Cebu City Sports Center.

Meanwhile, RP's sepak takraw and pencak silat teams both aim for a historic finish in the 11-nation athletic meet.

The sepak takraw athletes vowed to win not just one, but two gold medals via the men and women's hoop event.

RP coaches Camilo Apdon and Vicente Luad, Jr., said their confidence level in producing the country's first gold in sepak takraw in SEAG history became high after seeing the results of the recently-concluded 1st Asian Indoor Games in Thailand.

The highest mark Thailand got in the AIG was 600 plus, while the best RP posted in their training is 720 and 630 in the men and women's divisions, respectively.

"Malaki talaga ang chances natin na mapanaluan natin ang golds sa hoop," Apdon said.

Sepak takraw became a medal sport only in the 2003 Vietnam SEA Games where the RP squad won a bronze via the circle game, a preparatory event for the hoop takraw.

On the other hand, RP's Indonesian head coach in pencak silat Adzhar Abdurasad said the international exposure they had after the Vietnam Games up to the present year gave him a positive outlook that they can win at least five golds in the multi-sport gathering.

"Aside from the tournaments we won like the World Championsips in Singapore and the Paris Open where we became overall champion, our athletes are all mentally-prepared now. We need that in pencak silat, a sport that needs just physical, but also mental toughness," Abdurasad said.

Meanwhile, the bulk of foreign participants seeing action here will be arriving on Friday in time for the lavish opening ceremonies of the 23rd SEA Games in Cebu highlighted by a 30-minute fireworks display at the Cebu City Sports Center. - With Caecent O. No-ot