44 ;i wroprsoAy DECEMBER 4, zole
mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Redemption
AFTER initial lapses in transporta-
tion, accomrnodations and food ser-
vice, host Philippines redeemed itself
in a world class opening cer€mony
of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
Startirig with the singing ofthe Phil-
ippine national anthem by song diva
Lani Misalucha inside the cavernous
Philippine Arena which can hold a
54,000 crowd capacity, we knew we
were in for an evening of enthralling
songs and dance numbers from the
country's top entertainers.
Christian Bautista, Jed Madela and
Robert Sena entertained the locals
and foreign delegates with the best
in Filipino talent. The various athlet-
ic delegations marched on the wide
stage of the lglesia ni Cristo ve$ue
in Sta. Maria,'Bulacan, the first time
athlaic delegations did so indoor.
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pac-
quiao lil the SEA Games Torch from
the bottom of the P50-million caul-
dron Organizing Chairman Alan
Peter Cayetano commissioned. Presi-
dent Rodrigo Duterte insisted there's
no hint of corruption in Cayetano's
expensive cauldton.
The official barong tagalog do-
signed by Francis Libiran was strik-
ingly eleganl with its red and blue
collar and sun burst ernbroidery l'rom
the shoulder to the left breast part.
. In an early surge of medal harvest,
the Philippines dominated many of
lhe eve ts like 3x 3 nen's and wom-
en's baskclball, gymnastics, amis,
and of course women's weightlifting
topped by Olympic silver medalist
Hidilyn Diaz. Her biggest drean is to
win for the Philippines its firsr Olym-
upA +€^-At4
(t)
pic gold medal in the event.
We cannot give the total number of
medal haul the Philippines took as it
is still a work in progress. So far, the
country has won 30 medals in gold,
silver and bronze in the first two days
of comp€tition. But expect the other
countries like Vietnam, Thailand and
Indonesia to catch up in other events
where they excel. Tlphoon "Tisoy,"
however, forced the shelving of some
of the events scheduled in the next '
two days.
lfro, no*, cayetano
will get a temporary relief
from any inquiry so as
not to distract Filipino
athlatesfrom focusing
o n th ei r pe rfo r m a n ce.
ll
I expect the Philippines to win the
men's basketball championship given
that powerhouse South Korea, China
and Taiwan are not included in this
exclusively Southeast Asian athletic
competition.
Some of the other events will be
heldin Bulacan, Subic, Pampanga,
La Union and Laguna. Motorists
should take note of the traffic flow in
these areas as they would be surely
tighl Last minute repairs and reno-
vation at the historic Rizal Memorial
sports complex are still being done.
Other basketball competitions will
be held at the Mall of Asia Arena and
Araneta Coliseum.
While President Rodrigo l)uterte
believes in the honesty of Cayetano
as far as the Games expenses axe con-
cerned, the House will still hold an
inquiry on Speaker Cayetano's fund
' IllntolS
lu'F1r PAW Pt'r ' ' ->
Redemption
F ooM
disbursements for the regional event.
For now, Cayetano will get a temporary relief from any inquiry so as not
to distract Filipino athletes from focusing on their performance and come
out overall winner. Vietnam, which emerged victorious from two major wars
against the French and the Americans, looms as the next Asian sports power-
house particularly in track and field competitions.
Willthe Philippines regain its top place in medal standings? That depends
on a well-rounded athletic prograni in schools in Mefo Manila and the pmv-
inces plus training under skilled local and foreign coaches.
Other countries in the region draw from the experience of foreign coaches
to develop their athletes' oompetitivercss.\ '
The Philippines is too concentrated on basketball when we can excel in
other events where height is not a factor like football, tennis and boxing where
athletes fight according to wgight categories.
It would be a resurgence of athletic prowess if we can come up again with
narnes like Lydia de Vega in track, and Rafael Nepomuceno and Bong Coo
in bowling.
Fencing and arnis are two other events Filipinos have a chance of winning
gold medals. Thailand and Vietnam would be strong rivals in this competition.

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