SEA Games: Philippines seeks big share of 45 golds

PALEMBANG, Indonesia—The chase for medals in the 26th Southeast Asian Games starts Saturday with the 512-strong Filipino athletes hoping for an early boost in their campaign here and in the capital city Jakarta and West Java.

The Filipinos will launch their campaign to improve on their fifth overall finish two years ago in high spirits after the Under-23 Azkals came from behind to nip Laos, 3-2, in Jakarta Friday.

A total of 45 gold medals will be at stake for the day with steeplechaser Rene Herrera, shooter Jayson Valdez, mountain biker Joey Barba and the poomsae trio of Rani Ortega, Camille Alarilla and Janice Lagman expected to do well in their respective events.

Most of the action will be in swimming, athletics, artistic gymnastic, shooting, canoeing, mountain bike cycling, karate, taekwondo, water polo and roller sport, where the Philippines fielded no entries.

Herrera is the two-time defending champion in the 3,000m steeplechase, where compatriot Hernanie Sore is also entered at the Jakabaring Sport City here.

Joining the 16-year-old Valdez, who vies in the 10m air rifle, at the shooting range are multititled Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla in the men’s 25m standard pistol and three-time SEA Games gold medalist Emerito Concepcion in the 50m rifle prone.

Charmers Ortega, Alarilla and Lagman, world champions in the poomsae trio in 2009, capped a golden year by snaring the gold in the Laos SEA Games.

Barba ruled the downhill bike event in both the 2005 and 2007 SEA Games editions and remains the favorite here.

Other tracksters searching for medals are Henry Dagmil and Benigno Marayag in the men’s long jump, Rosalie Sermona in the women’s hammer throw and Eliezer Sunang in the men’s shot put.

Out to provide a splash in the pool are Jose Joaquin Gonzales and Banjo Borja in the men’s 400m individual medley, Jasmine Alkhaldi in the women’s 200m free, Borja and Dhil Anderson Lee in the men’s 200m breaststroke and Lee and Johansen Aguilar in the men’s 50m butterfly.

Fireworks light up the sky as athletes and officials gather during opening ceremony the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at Jakabaring sport city in Palembang Indonesia, Friday. AP Photo by Achmad Ibrahim

Action also begins in chess, bridge, water polo, sepak takraw here and karate at the Indoor Tenis in Senayan, Jakarta.

Over in Cipule Lake in West Java, Alex Generalo and Dany Funelas faltered in the wake of superior opposition in the canoe/kayak competitions Friday.

Generalo clocked 4:11.750 and placed fifth in the kayak 1000m event won by Thai Wichan Jaitineg in 3:55.590.

Funelas similarly landed fifth in the canoe race with a time of 4:48.070, way off the winning 4:16.00 of Indonesian defending champion Eka Oktarianus.

Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia has predicted a gold medal haul of 70 for the Filipinos. With 38 golds, the Filipinos landed fifth overall in the 2009 Games ruled by the Thais.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono formally declared the Games open Friday evening before thousands of spectators and security personnel at the 40,000-capacity Jakabaring Sport City, hub of the 11-nation biennial meet.