Tracksters, chessers to boost RP title bid

Athletics and chess, two different sports under the same leadership, also share a common goal in the SEA Games this year: Win as many gold medals as possible.

The country’s biggest source of medals when it comes to the SEA Games, athletics is once again expected to deliver and boost the Filipinos’ bid for the overall crown.

Just the same, chess is tipped to do well in the SEA Games as it tries to surpass a three-gold haul during the 2003 edition of the biennial event in Vietnam.

Go Teng Kok, who heads both the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association and the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, is just beaming with confidence.

"We have always performed at our best and we will continue to do that in this year’s SEA Games," said the high-profile sports official during yesterday’s PSA Forum.

"We will repeat our performance," he said. Athletics, the centerpiece of every multi-event competition, has produced some of the country’s finest athletes and continues to produce some excellent athletes.

Now bannered by long-distance specialist Eduardo Buenavista and long-jump expert Lerma Bulauitan-Gabito, the RP track team is truly a force to reckon with in the region.

Go sees at least a dozen gold medals for the country with sure wins in events like the men’s 3,000 and 5,000 m runs, the 3,000 steeplechase or the women’s marathon and long jump.

In the last two editions of the SEA Games, athletics has been the biggest medal producer for the Philippines, winning nine in Malaysia in 2001, and eight in Vietnam in 2003.

"But we expect at least 12 gold medals in track and field this year," added Go during the forum at the Pantalan Restaurant in Manila.

Behind an extensive training program that has brought his athletes to France, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taipei this year, Go said winning a dozen gold medals won’t be that hard.

He added, however, that the final prediction will be made after the tracksters return from the Asian Championships scheduled in Korea next week.

"As you all know, track and field is a measurable sport. And in Korea, all the best Southeast Asian athletes will be there. So after that, we will know how many gold medals we can win in the SEA Games," he said.

The RP chess team, led by Grandmasters Eugene Torre and Joey Antonio, is just as confident. A total of eight gold medals will be at stake this year, five in the men’s side and three in the women’s.

"Our men’s team is capable of sweeping all the gold medals," added Go, who’s really hoping to shoot more birds with one stone in the SEA Games.