Foreign teams due for EAGA Friendship meet

PUERTO Princesa, Palawan–Mayor Edward Hagedorn will literally roll out the red carpet as the bulk of foreign teams seeing action in the third BIMP-EAGA Friendship Games starts to jet in to this beautiful island paradise.

More than 400 athletes and officials coming from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines will be part of this event, which is staged for the first time in five years and hosted for the first time by this bustling city in Southern Tagalog.

Hagedorn has been personally visiting and supervising preparations and yesterday declared it all systems go for the meet, which will stake gold medals in volleyball, soccer, swimming, athletics and Palawan’s favorite, sepak takraw.

"Aside from the top-notch competition that we will see, Puerto Princesa is excited in showing our Asian neighbors the hospitality Palawan are known for," Hagedorn said while supervising the installation of the red carpet at the Puerto Princesa Sports Complex.

Indonesia, which will actually have a total of three teams for the meet, is fielding in the largest number of athletes with a total of 157, all arriving today via a connecting flight from Manila.

Brunei, on the other hand, has the leanest delegation with only 26 athletes.

The Philippines will be represented by two teams–Mindanao and Puerto Princesa and Palawan and officials here are optimistic of a banner charge by the locals, especially in sepak takraw where the country won the title in the last staging of this event in Malaysia five years ago.

The meet opens Saturday with the usual parade of athletes and Hagedorn and his staff have lined up a lively show. Philippine Sports Commission chairman and former national swimming hero Eric Buhain will also arrive Friday and will deliver a brief message to the athletes during the opening ceremonies.

The city has tapped four venues for the events with the Puerto Princesa coliseum the center of it all.

Mendoza Park, a historical landmark located in the heart of this city which is named after war hero Dr. Higinio Mendoza, will serve as venue to the sepak takraw competitions.