Pinoys not yet up to Asian level

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Filipino Eduardo Buenavista, the Southeast Asian Games gold medalist and groomed to be a future Asian champion, gave the 5,000m run his best shot, but it could only land him sixth place Monday at the close of the 14th Asian Athletic Championships at the Sugathadasa Stadium here.

Buenavista, barely five feet flat, gamely stayed with the seven-man lead pack up to the last three laps only to lag behind in the last 300 meters as the effort of matching strides with taller rivals took its toll.

"Binuhos ko na ang lakas ko, pero hindi talaga kaya," said Buenavista, the 2001 Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games champion of the event.

The Philippines thus ended its stint in the 41-nation field with one silver and one bronze medals courtesy of long jumpers Lerma Bulauitan-Gabito and Marestella Torres.

"Our athletes fared according to expectations," said Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association president Go Teng Kok. "After all, this is our best finish since 1985 and the last time we won a medal was in 1993 and in Manila yet."

Go also noted that Buenavista, Ernie Candelario and John Lozaga were recovering from various injuries and aren’t expected to hit peak form until the Busan Asian Games late next month.

Decathlete Fidel Gallenero and high jumper Sean Guevara also found the opposition too strong and failed to bag medals in Day 4 of competitions. Just like the 4x400m relay team of Aying Jimar, Rodrigo Tanuan Jr., Ronnie Marfil and Candelario, which wound up fourth in the event won by the Sri Lankans.

The closing ceremony was more somber than the festive opening rites, but the more than 50,000 spectators remained up to the final performances that went past 8 p.m. (10 p.m. in Manila).

After the parade of athletes, Go received the Asian Athletic Association flag from Johnston Fernando, Sri Lanka Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports and chairman of the organizing committee, symbolic of the Philippine hosting of the 15th edition of the event from Sept. 18-21, 2003.

Members of the local Filipino community in this island nation, wearing barongs and waiving miniature Philippine flags, rendered a medley of native songs as the Philippine team circled the oval bearing a huge banner stating "See You in Manila 2003."

China kept overall supremacy with 10 golds, 6 silvers and 4 bronzes, but found a new challenger in Qatar.

The Qataris, reaping the benefits of a yearlong training in the United States and Europe, placed a strong second with an 8-2-6 tally. Another surprise package was Kazakhstan, which took third at the expense of traditional powerhouse Japan.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Ahmed Hassan Musa won the decathlon gold medal.

Musa logged 7,670 points to win the 10-event competition.

Uzbekistan’s Pavel Andreen got the silver medal with 7,428 points, while Japan’s Takuro Hirata finished third with 7,344.