Fil-Am players to show stuff in National Open
ILAGAN, ISABELA—Filipino-American athletes are gearing up to show what they’re made of when the 2019 Ayala Philippine Athletics Championships unfold on Wednesday at City of Ilagan Sports Complex here.
Former Olympian Eric Cray leads the list of Fil-Ams who will be vying for slots to the national squad.
The 30-year old Cray, however, is set to compete in the Asian Athletics Championships in Hong Kong later this month and the World Athletics Championships in Japan in May, and he is likely to take it easy in this year’s edition of the national open here.
“I’m pretty confident with my training so I’m just gonna go out and compete,” said the four-time SEA Games gold medalist. “It’s just part of the buildup. I’ll be playing it safe to just prepare my body for SEA Games and other Athletics Championships.”
Among those slated to strut their wares are Donovant Arriolla Grant, a 6-foot-1 long jumper who logged a 7.64-meter leap in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, and pole vaulter Natalie Uy, who seems like a lock for a national team slot with her personal best of 4.20m.
Other overseas athletes expected to push the homegrown talents are Lily Carter, William Morrison, Alyana Nicolas, Kayla Robinson, Kristina Knott and EJ Obiena.
The Open will also feature such local stars as Marestella Torres, Harry Diones, Mary Joy Tabal, Jarry Ubas, and Julian Fuentes, who are all ready to facae topnotch rivals from United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, India, Mongolia and Chinese-Taipei.
Organizers are also ready for the National Open, which comes at the heels of the successful staging of the Southeast Asian Youth Championships, Patafa sports coordinator Ricky Laggui said.
“We are always ready for the hosting and we would love to be a gracious host to the players,” he added.
“We’re looking for athletes who will qualify to the national team. The best five performers here will be in the training pool. Then, we’ll choose the top three for the SEA Games,” Patafa training director Renato Unso said.
