Philippines bets bracing for Asian Winter Games, SEAG, AIMAG

MANILA, Philippines — With a massive war chest, Filipino athletes will be well equipped when they plunge into action in several huge international tournaments in what many expect to be an exciting 2025.

Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino are both bracing for a busy schedule for the country that includes the Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games.

Bachmann said the country is expected to receive a bigger funding of more than P1 billion for this year, which would be a significant hike to what the sports-funding agency has been receiving in the past.

The fund will come from the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

“This will be all for the athletes and our programs,” said Bachmann.

Tolentino, meanwhile, is to convene the POC executive board on Jan. 9 as well as the general assembly less than a week later – Jan. 15 – to get everything started.

“Work starts in earnest,” said the Tagaytay City mayor and PhilCycling chief.

The SEA Games is slated for December in Thailand while the oft-postponed AIMAG will be staged in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at a still unannounced date.

Also, the country will field a lean but mean delegation in the Asian Winter Games scheduled Feb. 7 to 14 in Harbin, China.

Tolentino said he expects tough opposition in Thailand.

“That will be a tough SEA Games, but I’m confident our athletes, our national sports associations will deliver in Thailand,” he said.

The country is also looking forward to Gilas Pilipinas’ FIBA Asia Cup participation and the country’s hosting of two massive meets – the FIVB World Championships set Sept. 12 to 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and MOA Arena, and golf’s Philippine Open slated Jan. 23 to 26 at the Manila Southwoods.