RP officials pull out to ease woes

Officials of equestrian and baseball yesterday came to the rescue of the accommodation woes besetting Team Philippines less than two months before the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.

Hector Navasero, head of the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, agreed to leave behind four of his team personnel, while Jose "Peping" Cojuangco, Philippine Olympic Committee president and equestrian chief, offered to billet two of his coaches from the Games Village to a docked European cruise ship, thus enabling RP sports officials to solve one of their problems regarding accommodations.

The problem cropped up after the Doha Asian Games Organizing Committee at the last minute announced that only a 316-man entourage can be accommodated at the Games Village at any given time owing to the lack of beds and sleeping quarters.

The 360-man RP delegation is set to leave one group after the other for Doha starting Nov. 16, leaving sports officials distraught on how to resolve the crisis.

Navasero had earlier been vocal over his displeasure at the possibility of his baseball squad being taken out of the official team roster to allow the RP delegation to fit in into the DAGOC directive, saying he would even pitch tent on the beaches of Doha if the situation warrants such dire measures.

Backing up his arguments that a solution be found first, Navasero offered to reduce by four his baseball personnel, leaving the Team RP accreditations committee two heads short of meeting the 316 requirement.