On track for top 3

Philippine delegation Chef de Mision and PSC commissioner Ramon Fernandez said yesterday with only a few more days before the end of the Hanoi SEA Games, the country is on track to finish inside the magic circle of three. “We’re getting there,” he said. “From the very start, our goal was to end up top three. It’s difficult to dislodge the host nation which is running away with the most golds as expected. Personally, I’m happy with our showing so far. We’ve got some more golds in line from taekwondo, boxing, karate, weightlifting, basketball, among others.”

Fernandez said COVID conditions made it a challenge to prepare for the competition. “It’s a big factor,” he said. “We weren’t exposed to training abroad like we were for 2019. Coping with COVID was tough. In sports where we didn’t do well, I think our athletes were motivated but kulang sa training. I’m not disappointed though. Give it to Vietnam, they worked hard to be up there. I’m surprised that basketball is now Vietnam’s second most popular sport and they showed a lot of improvement in 3x3.”

While there were heartaches, Fernandez said there were also breakthroughs. “Everyone was in awe of Caloy Yulo,” he said. “I was so excited that I carried him off his feet like a baby, not realizing he’s quite heavy being so muscular. Gymnast Aleah Finnegan was a surprise and so was swimmer Chloe Isleta. I’m informed that Chloe’s gold was our first in women’s swimming in 29 years.”

Fernandez said athletes encountered logistical challenges, particularly in accommodations and transportation. “CDMs meet to discuss our situation every other day starting May 10 except opening day on May 12,” he said. “Organizers keep promising to improve and apologizing for shortcomings because of inexperienced volunteers. For instance, we were assigned nine vehicles for NOC but only four arrived and sometimes two or three were used by others. Last night, we were told that our bus for athletes was stuffed with athletes from other countries, many not wearing masks after a competition going back to the hotel. There were also instances of unfair judgment in subjective sports like kickboxing and poomsae. We had a problem with bodybuilding but unfortunately, our NSA failed to follow the rules which require doping tests before, during and after the competition. Nag-sorry sila but we learned the hard way. Let’s just be better prepared next time and make sure we know the rules.”