Top-five ranking a must for Asian Games bets

MANILA, Philippines — Athletes should make it to the top five of an Asian-level tournament to earn a slot in the Asian Games this year.

This was the initial condition laid down by Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia during Thursday’s first consultative meeting between the Asian Games Task Force and participating national sports associations in preparation for the 17th Asiad on Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 in Incheon, South Korea.

“For an athlete to qualify, he should be in the top five in Asia to make it to Incheon,” said Garcia, who will be the country’s chef de mission to the Asiad.

Based on the standard set by the task force, cyclist Daniel Caluag and Fil-Am netter Treat Huey are shoo-ins for the squad along with the Fiba World Cup-bound Gilas Pilipinas, softball’s Blu Girls and the men’s rugby team.

Caluag recently bagged a gold medal in the BMX event of the Southeast Asian Games in Burma. The California-based racer was the only Asian participant in the discipline during the 2012 London Olympics.

Also a cinch is Huey, who is ranked 22nd in the world in men’s doubles and fourth in Asia behind Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna of India and Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi of Pakistan.

Huey made it to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Australian Open with doubles partner Dominic Inglot of Great Brittain.

Gilas placed second in the Fiba Asia Championship in Manila last year to book a ticket to the World Cup in Spain late this year.

The rugby team finished fourth in the 2013 HSBC World Sevens while the Blu Girls also wound up fourth in the Asian Championship last year.