BEIJING—With the country’s last two Olympic medal hopes fighting in the next three days, the country’s two biggest sports fans will be in the gallery to cheer for at least one of them.

Lawyer Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, the husband of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is arriving Wednesday morning in time for Tshomlee Go’s first match in taekwondo’s -58 kg class at the University of Science and Technology-Beijing Gymnasium.

The next morning, PLDT-Smart chair Manny V. Pangilinan will fly in together with certain officials of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to watch Marie Antoinette “Toni” Rivero’s fights in the women’s -67 kg category.

Pangilinan and Arroyo are also said to be interested in watching the remaining games of the United States’ powerhouse “Redeem Team.”

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It’s not yet time, we still have athletes competing out there.

Thus said Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, the president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, as he politely declined to give an assessment of the country’s performance in the Games of the 29th Olympiad.

Cojuangco, however, said he would talk about the performance of the national athletes after diver Ryan Rexel Frabriga has seen action in the men’s 10-meter platform event on Friday.

“Let the athletes complete their participation first,” he said.

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An informal poll conducted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer at the Olympics’ Main Press Center here showed a dead-heat between Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008 in terms of the overall organization of the Summer Games.

Of the 100 journalists polled from different countries, 43 said the Beijing Olympics is better organized than the Sydney Games, while 42 said the 2000 Olympiad in Australia was the best ever.

Three of the respondents said the 1992 Barcelona Olympics eclipsed both Sydney and Beijing while 12 were undecided.

Those who picked Beijing said there was hardly any problem with the Games’ transportation system, information dissemination and venue preparation while the journalists who voted for Sydney said Australia’s English-speaking, friendly volunteers were the big difference.

The president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, is expected to announce his verdict during the closing ceremonies. Rogge, following tradition, will do one of two things. Either he’ll announce that “The Beijing Games is the BEST Olympics ever” or skip the announcement altogether.