SEAG-bound Team RP may reach 300

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine team chief of mission Mario Tanchangco expects the country’s delegates to the forthcoming 25th Laos Southeast Asian Games to reach 300 as 20 more athletes are expected to make it to the biennial meet in December.

“We expect 20 more athletes to qualify for the games,” Tanchangco said yesterday in the weekly SCOOP sa Kamayan Forum along Padre Faura in Ermita.

Tanchangco, the president of sepak takraw, said that 138 athletes have so far passed the SEA Games criteria while the estimated number of officials and medical members could reach 80 including 50 umpires and coaches.

“The figure does not include athletes who won in their respective international federation-sanctioned tournaments and Asian federation-recognized competitions,” Tanchangco said.

Tanchangco refused to give overall medal prediction but expressed confidence that the star-studded billiards team led by pool legend Efren “Bata” Reyes will bring home at least five gold medals.

Billiards coach Boyet Asonto and top women’s cue artist Rubilen Amit, who also graced the Accel-sponsored sports forum, said the RP team will do their best to retain the Filipinos’ supremacy in the sport.

“One thing for sure, we will do our best to bring home more medals,” Amit said.

Aside from Reyes and Amit, other billiards team members are Alex Pagulayan, Roberto Gomez, Benjie Guevarra, Ronnie Alcano, Warren Kiamco, Bustamante, Ramil Gallego, Gandy Valle, Dennis Orcollo, Mary Ann Basas and Irish Ranola.

“With this kind of line-up, I expect our team to dominate again the billiards in SEA Games,” said Asonto, who will handle the women’s team.

The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) will evaluate the number of the RP contingent in next week’s executive board meeting before it will be forwarded to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) which has allotted P30 million for the country’s SEAG participation.

Tanchangco said the Laos SEAG Organizing Committee has set Oct. 10 as deadline for the submission of the list by names of the delegates.

In the 2007 Thailand SEAG, the country sent 620 athletes in 42 sports. This year, host Laos only approved 25 sports, particularly due to budget constraints and lack of standard facilities.