1,600-strong team to battle in 33rd SEAG

MANILA, Philippines — With full backing from the government, the Philippines is fielding its biggest delegation to date in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games set Dec. 9 to 20 in Thailand – a 1,600-strong squad mostly coming from team sports.

“This is our biggest SEA Games delegation,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino.

The number, which will see action in 574 events in 50 sports, is almost double of the delegation sent in the Phnom Penh edition two years ago at 905 of 38 disciplines. The biggest Philippine delegation fielded in SEAG before was the 1,115-strong team that played on home soil six years ago.

The PhilCycling chief said there’s a massive spike since the country has decided to join more team events outside the traditional ones like basketball, football  and volleyball.

“Even winter sports were there,” said Tolentino, referring to ice hockey and ice skating.

Despite the significant increase that would also accrue additional expenses, Philippine Sports Commission chair Patrick Gregorio vowed to give its unwavering support to the national team.

“We just finished our board meeting and saw a lot of requests concerning the SEA Games and we are prioritizing those, whether it’s training or international exposure,” Gregorio said.