Asiad notes

Paging Goma         

HANGZHOU – The opening ceremony Saturday evening went according to plan except for a notable absence in the Philippine delegation. The chef-de-mission, fencing and modern pentathlon president Richard Gomez, was nowhere in sight. The STAR asked around regarding the whereabouts of the famous actor, multi-sport athlete and now congressman for Leyte’s Fourth District. “May budget hearing,” said POC chief Abraham Tolentino. “Hindi ko alam,” said one NSA president, who joined the parade. “Busy daw. And when he tried to book his plane ticket from Manila, wala na makuha,” said another sports official. An observer said the reason for his absence is none of the above. It’s the first time in any major international competition such as this that a Filipino chef-de-mission had gone missing in action. The Games will run until Oct. 8 so there’s enough time for Gomez to catch up. Better late than sorry.

Gilas bubble

HANGZHOU – Learning their lessons well, members of Gilas Pilipinas have opted to stay in a separate hotel than join the record number of athletes from 45 nations at the gigantic but restricted Athletes Village. “May sarili kami hotel. Mahirap sa Village,” said team manager Afrancis Chua of the SMC Group. In the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship final against host China in Changsha, over 500 miles from here, Gilas had a nightmare heading to the championship game. The electric bus that would take them to the venue wouldn’t start due to battery problems, and when they got there, some members and supporters of the team had no tickets to enter the stadium. They had to buy a dozen tickets priced five times more than the face value. “Mapapaaway kami dito,” was basketball chief Manny V. Pangilinan’s tweet that went viral then. “Kukuha na din kami ng sariling bus ‘dyan. At may dala akong baterya ng bus,” Chua told The STAR during the team’s brief layover in Hong Kong Sunday.

Make or break

HANGZHOU – It’s the Philippines versus South Korea tonight in what should be an explosive match in women’s football of the 19th Asian Games here. The Filipinas will head to the match in faraway Wenzhou following a 3-1 win over Hong Kong, and the South Koreans, the top seed in Group E, a 4-nil victory over Myanmar. The South Koreans won the bronze in the 2018 Asian Games behind powerhouse Japan (gold) and China (silver). It will be the first acid test for new Philippine team coach Mark Torcaso, who came in to replace fellow Australian Alen Stajcic, who guided the Filipinas to a historic FIFA World Cup stint last July. Only the top team in each group will make it to the quarterfinal round along with three others with the highest points among the rest. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. The loser will bid the podium goodbye.