SEA Games overall championship in the bag for Team Philippines — POC chief Bambol Tolentino

By Nick Giongco

CAPAS, Tarlac — The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) on Sunday boldly declared that host Philippines has the 30th South­east Asian Games (SEAG) overall crown in the bag.

“Sealed na yan,” said POC president Bambol Tolentino, who believes the Phil­ippines’ closest pursuer, Indonesia, won’t be able to catch up.

According to the SEAG website, the Philippines now has a gold-silver-bronze tally of 99-72-84 as of 4:30 p.m. Sunday. In contrast, Indonesia has 62-55-70, and Vietnam, which has never finished lower than third since it hosted in 2003, has 50-53-65.

The Philippines raced to 22 gold med­als during the first day, and on Saturday grabbed a second-best 17.

Tolentino said he carefully studied the winning chances of Filipino athletes when he first proposed holding 530 events in 56 sports.

“I looked at it carefully and I think I did good,” said Tolentino, who expects the grand total to reach 120 to 130 gold medals when the SEAG ends on Wednesday.

As this developed, the Philippines continued its romp with gold medals in softball, rowing, soft tennis, golf, and surfing, overshadowing Fil-Am runner Eric Cray’s mal­function during the morning heats of the 100-meters.

Cray was called for a false start and ordered out of the event.

The 31-year-old Cray took off before the starting gun was fired, leaving him with no recourse but to watch the action from the sideline.

Cray’s best time in the event is 10.26 which he set during his gold medal run in the 2015 Singapore SEAG.

In his place, Anfernee Lopena will represent the Philippines in the finals late Sunday after clocking 10.61. The top pick now in the event is Thai Sowan Ruttaporn, who clocked 10.34, followed by Hanari Haiqal of Malaysia, who had a time of 10.39.

Fortunately, Cray’s misfortune faded as the hours passed when other Filipino athletes in various fields began making their move into the finals as well.

The softball team trashed Indonesia, 8-0, while Melcah Caballero bagged her second gold, this time in the lightweight single sculls, after winning her first in doubles a few days ago.

The tandem of Lois Kay Go and Bi­anca Pagdangana tripped Malaysia in matchplay 1 ½ to ½ for the team gold in women’s golf at Luisita.

Soft tennis had another field day when the doubles team of Corazon Manalac and Camille Zoleta won against Thailand 1-0.

Surfing also made its presence felt when Roger Casugay and Nilbie Blancada won in the longboard open and short­board open, respectively, in La Union.

In the basketball arena, where people come in droves to cheer for Gilas, Indo­nesia will be the stumbling block to its mission of gaining entry into the finals when they lock horns in the semifinals at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

The other semis pairing will have Thailand and Vietnam.

Finals in athletics and swimming, both venues located inside the NCC, are firing off late Sunday afternoon and well into the night.

Meanwhile, Chief of Mission Butch Ramirez, also the Philippine Sports Commission chairman, expressed his appreciation for the entire nation’s sup­port to the Philippine delegation that competed against the region’s very best in 56 sports the past nine days.

“More than the medal haul, I am thankful for all the sacrifice and hard work that went behind pushing their chances for a shining moment.”

Beyond the country’s staging of the biennial sports festival, Ramirez believes the 30th SEAG will leave a last­ing legacy.

“The gains from this event do not end when the curtains come down. On top of the victories, there are many long-term advantages,” he added, stressing that the current crop of national team member will expand following the im­pressive showing of the Philippines.

Source: Manila Bulletin