SEA Games: Filipinos face Indonesia, Malaysia first, then Singapore in water polo

By Waylon Galvez

The water polo national team got a good draw with regards to schedule as it will face Indonesia for its first game before it takes on defending champion Singapore in the 30th Southeast Asian Games here.

The national team meets Indonesia – silver medalist in the previous SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur – on opening day of competition on November 26 at the aquatic center of the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.

The host team takes a break the following day November 27 before it returns to action on November 28 against Malaysia, which won the bronze medal when it staged the biennial meet two years ago.

That sets the Filipinos to probably the most important match in the tournament for the Filipinos when they face defending champion Singapore, which many believe the gold medal match since the two countries are expected to hurdle their respective initial games.

The game is set November 29.

“It’s a good draw for the national team in terms of schedule. We’ll be playing on opening day of water polo,” said Dale Evangelista, the former national team player who is now a member of the coaching staff headed by Reynaldo Galang.

“Ang maganda kasi, after our team plays on opening day, our players get a day break then returns to action against Malaysia, which prepares the team for our big game with Singapore.”

The event takes a break November 30 for the SEA Games opening ceremony at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. The national team takes on Thailand on the final day of water polo action on December 1.

Evangelista said it’s important to win the first two games – against Indonesia and Malaysia – before thinking of beating Singapore.

Since the sports of water polo was introduced during the 1965 SEA Games, Singapore has won the gold medal a record 27 times. The national team came close to ending that dominance thrice, in 2005 when the Philippines last hosted the regional meet, in 2007 in Thailand and in 2009 in Laos.

In last September’s FINA Water Polo Challengers’ Cup at the OCBC Aquatic, the national team lost to Singapore 11-7 but based on Galang’s analysis, it was a good test since they were able to identify to the things that need improvement before the SEA Games.

“We’ve done a few things, particularly on defense, which was one of the things we saw during our game against Singapore in the Challengers’ Cup,” said Galang.

“Of course, we’re hoping too that with the crowd cheering our players not just against Singapore, but also in our other games, it would inspire our players to give it their best in this SEA Games.”

After the Challengers’ Cup in Singapore, the Filipinos had a 15-day training camp in Tokyo, Japan where it also played tuneup matches against several pro teams. Japan is among the top teams in the world.

Source: Manila Bulletin