Alcantara, RP 5 given YOG slots

MANILA, Philippines - Junior tennis champion Francis Casey Alcantara has been given outright entry to participate in the first Youth Olympic Games slated in Singapore this year. 

The 17-year-old tennis wonder from Cagayan de Oro City earned the automatic slot for winning the boys’ doubles title in the Australian Open last year where he teamed up with Taiwanese Hsieh Cheng-peng.

The soon-to-be-formed national basketball team has also been given automatic berth in the meet which will gather the world’s youth athletes aged 14-18, according Philippine Olympic Committee deputy secretary general and swimming association president Mark Joseph.

“Alcantara’s victory in the Australian Open and his subsequent high top 30 rating internationally earned for him the outright seat in the Youth Olympics,” Joseph said during the Scoop sa Kamayan session at Kamayan-Padre Faura yesterday.

“As for basketball, it was the FIBA that gave the Philippines outright seeding probably because of the country’s contribution to the growth of basketball worldwide,” he said.

Unlike Alcantara and the basketball squad, those who have earlier qualified to the Games – five in swimming, two in archery and three in shooting – must maintain their present rankings until June when the final list of the seeded athletes will be announced.

Another tennis player, Jason Patrombon, according to Joseph, has a chance to be seeded although he must have to go through several qualifying tournaments to make it.

The POC will also be sending athletes to participate in the qualifying tournaments in various sports, including boxing, taekwondo, judo and equestrian.

There are 580 slots available in athletics, 480 in swimming, 70 in archery, 32 in equestrian and 80 in shooting.

The YOG will follow the traditional 26-sport calendar although several non-Olympic events that could help in the promotion of Olympic values and education to children are being lined up.