The 11 best stories of the 2011 SEA GamesInterAKTV · Wednesday, November 2, 2011 · 2:09 am
November 11, 2011 will mark the start of the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia. Eleven countries including the Philippines will battle in 44 sports with 542 gold medals at stake.
The Philippines is sending 512 athletes to the Games that will be held in two cities: Palembang and Jakarta. Expect fierce competition from the Filipino athletes as they figure against Southeast Asian powerhouses Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and host Indonesia in the medal tally.
And since 11 is quite a popular number in Indonesia at this time of the year, here are 11 stories to watch out for in the SEA Games that will be shown on AKTV.
1. SEA Games return to Philippine TV
After two years, the SEA Games is back on television thanks to AKTV. Two years ago, the hefty cost of the rights to cover the games in Laos was too much for Pinoy outlets. The 2010 Asian Games also weren’t televised for the same reason. Practically, this is the first time in quite a while that Filipinos can witness our athletes battle for supremacy in many events.
2. Pinoy Asian Games champions, now going for SEA Games gold
Boxer Rey Saludar, bowler Biboy Rivera and cue artist Dennis Orcullo hope to ride on their 2010 Asian Games performance in this year’s SEA Games.
Saludar, Rivera and Orcullo were the darlings of last year’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, capturing gold medals in their respective events. They hope to do the same in Indonesia in a few days.
3. An Olympic boxer making his debut in the SEA Games
The PLDT-Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines pugs already have a 2012 Olympian in light flyweight Mark Anthony Barriga, who has gained entry to London. Interestingly though, this year will mark his SEA Games debut.
The 19-year-old Barriga, one of the younger Filipino campaigners in the SEA Games, will lead the boxing team together with Saludar. Rounding out the roster are the comebacking Joan Tipon, Delfin Boholst, Rolando Tacuyan, Charly Suarez and Delfin Boholst.
4. GM Wesley So goes for gold
After a six-year hiatus, chess is back in the SEA Games and what better way to return to the competition than having GM Wesley So in the Philippine team.
The lone Filipino in the top 100 in the FIDE rankings will seek to help the men’s team claim gold medals for the country in various events along with fellow GMs Joey Antonio, Oliver Barbosa, Mark Paragua, John Paul Gomez and Darwin Laylo.
The Philippines is the best Southeast Asian nation based on the recent FIDE ratings taking the 33rd spot, making it the favorite to reap more medals in the SEA Games.
5. The Philippine Under-23 football team’s comeback to SEA Games action
Due to the huge resurgence of football in the country, the Philippines will be competing in the men’s U23 competitions of the SEA Games for the first time since the country hosted the event in 2005 in Bacolod City.
Although the gold medal chances of the team are quite slim, the U023 squad has had intensive preparations for the SEA Games as they underwent rigorous training in Japan. Team members even joined the Azkals in the Long Teng Cup and in an international friendly with Nepal recently, hoping to reach the medal round this year. Mark and Matthew Hartmann, Jason De Jong, goalkeeper Roland Mueller and defender Neckson Leonora are among the players on the team.6. The Philippine taekwondo team minus its ‘Go’-to-guy
Filipino jins copped four gold medals in Laos and one of them came from taekwondo icon Tshomlee Go. After the 2010 Asian Games, the Beijing Olympian quietly retired from the sport and has since settled down with his wife in the United States.
With Go’s retirement, the team is practically a young (with the exception of Japoy Lizardo, Alexander Briones and Marie Antoinette Rivero) but a very capable group with Marlon Avenido, Jeff Figueroa, Camille Manalo and Kirstie Alora also backstopping the team. Poomsae girls Camille Alarilla, Rani Ann Ortega and Janice Lagman are also gold medal contenders.
7. Swimming without Miguel Molina and Daniel Coakley
Three of the four Pinoy gold medalists in swimming from 2009 will not be defending their titles in this year’s SEA Games. Miguel Molina, the face of Philippine swimming in recent SEA Games and a 200m and 400m individual medley gold winner in Laos, and sprint king Daniel Coakley have retired from the sport.
Long-distance swimmer Ryan Arabejo is the only gold medallist returning for this year’s SEA Games, while Jessie Khing Lacuna will be picking up the slack left by Molina in his events. Notable names include Charles Walker, Kendrick Uy and Jasmine Alkhaldi.
8. The “other” dragon boat team competes in the SEA Games
After the exploits of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federationteam in the World Championships, it’s the turn of the Philippine Canoe Kayak Federation’s dragon boat team to take center stage.
The PCKF team will also be battling against world-class contenders in the SEA Games with Myanmar as a tough challenger. The Philippine team hopes to take a crack at the gold after going zero in 2007, the previous time the event was held in the multi-sport conclave.
9. The men’s basketball team on a quest to reaffirm their dominance in Southeast Asia
Basketball, the sport Filipinos love most, is back in the SEA Games calendar after a hiatus in 2009 due to the lack of a suitable venue in Laos. Since the sports’ inception in 1977, the Philippines has only dropped the gold once — 1989 in Kuala Lumpur.
Five-time UAAP champion coach Norman Black of Ateneo collected some of the best collegiate basketball players this season along with a couple of members of the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team. Chris Tiu, naturalized center Marcus Douthit, UAAP Most Valuable Player Bobby Ray Parks, Greg Slaughter, Kiefer Ravena, Garvo Lanete, Ronald Pascual, and Ian Sangalang are some of the players in the national pool.
10. World champs in billiards seek gold this time
Efren “Bata” Reyes. Francisco “Django” Bustamante. Dennis Orcullo. Rubilen Amit. All world champions in the field of billiards. SEA Games billiards, however, will be a different story.
Except for Amit who has been consistently claiming gold medals for the national team, the Pinoy cue artists have been criticized for their sub-par performances in multi-sports events like the SEA Games and Asian Games, compared to their feats in professional tournaments. That can change when they go for the gold in Indonesia.
11. Can a “united” Philippine sports improve our standing in the SEA Games?
If asked whether this year’s campaign of the Philippines will be better than two years’ ago, Philippine sports officials will most probably say yes.
In 2009, the Philippine Olympic Committee, led by Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, and the Philippine Sports Commission, chaired at the time by Harry Angping, did not see eye-to-eye and had different views on how to go about with the country’s preparations for the SEA Games. The Philippines finished fifth with 38 gold medals.
This year, the POC and PSC are proud to say that they have united for the sake of Philippine sports. But whether that will lead to a better performance in the SEA Games still remains to be seen. This year should be a perfect gauge, and we will all be watching.
www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/the-11-best-stories-of-the-2011-sea-games