Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) chief Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. yesterday said national sports associations should be able to justify their choice of athletes for the national delegation to the Southeast Asian Games in Burma (Myanmar) this year.
A total of 200 athletes passed the criteria of the task force led by Philippine chef de mission Jeff Tamayo but the figure could still go down when the top brass of the POC and Philippine Sports Commission finalize the list in October.
“We shouldn’t just rely on the potential of our athletes,” said Cojuangco. “The NSAs have to show me how tough the opponents are and present records that our athletes can beat these opponents.”
Of the 200 slots for athletes forwarded to Burma organizers, 90 were reserved for individual athletes. The rest were allocated for team sports with strong chances of topping their discipline.
“(NSAs) have to [prove] that their athlete could really win the gold medal,” said Cojuangco.