More events, more golden chances for Team PH

The abundance of events in the coming 30th Southeast Asian Games is an opportunity for the national team to pool together a combined effort of 100 gold medals.

POC chair Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said the 520 events from 55 sports would give the Philippines more chances to surpass the 100-gold barrier aside from providing the chance for lesser-known disciplines to shine.

“I believe we are capable of winning more than 100 golds,” said Tolentino, also the president of the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines.

Filipino athletes amassed a total of 112 gold medals to seal the overall title when the country last hosted the 11-nation biennial meet in 2005.

This year’s Games scheduled Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 with Manila, Clark, Subic and BLT (Batangas, La Union and Tagaytay) tapped as designated hubs.

According to Tolentino, the 520 events will be finalized after participating countries submit the names of their entries a few months before the Games.

“If there are entries lesser than expected in a particular event, we will be obliged to scrap it,” said Tolentino.

Organizers normally remove events with less than four participating countries.