RP pins first medal hopes on sturdy rowers

BUSAN, South Korea — After a rush of shattering defeats in various fronts, Team Philippines found some glimmer of hope for medal through its sturdy rowers.

The Filipino rowers broke into the finals of three events and will go for the medals today and tomorrow behind the efforts of Benjie Tolentino, Jose Rodriguez and the tandem of Alvin Amposta and Nestor Cordova on the Nakdong River course.

Tolentino, who finished 18th in his event in the Sydney Olympics, topped his heat in the repechage in singles sculls while Amposta and Cordova made the feat in the doubles sculls.

Rodriguez, from Cauayan, Isabaela, was the first to advance to the finals by ruling his heat in the lightweight below 72-kilogram Monday.

The 6-foot-2 Tolentino, a grandson of the late basketball great and Olympian Mariano Tolentino and former national junior volleyball player, wavered in the last 200 meters to lose in his first heat. This time he overwhelmed the rest in the repechage.

"They trained very hard for this and we are very happy. We have good potential to medal but we have to face strong teams like China, Japan and Indonesia. But beating teams from Korea, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which are good in this discipline, is a big achievement for these guys," said Benjie Ramos, president of the Rowing Association of the Philippines.

"May tsansa silang mag-medalya," said former rowing coach Nestor Ilagan, who is now a member of the Philippine Sports Commission-Philippine Olympic Committee Asiad Task Force.

The 31-year-old Rodriguez and Tolentino will try to nail the nation’s first medal in Asiad water sports since Policarpio Ortega who a silver in yachting in the 1982 New Delhi Games when they take to the water in the finals today.

The tandem of Amposta and Cordova will compete in the medal race tomorrow.

Rodriguez is a veteran rower, having won a total of 10 golds since the 1996 Hong Kong rowing championship while Tolentino was a silver medallist in the 2001 Kuala Lumpur Games and made an impact in the Sydney Olympics when he emerged as the best Asian by finishing 18th overall.