Polo venue in Calatagan nearing completion

Away from the main hub of the 30th SEAG Games—the New Clark City Sports Complex in Tarlac—works at the Miguel Romero Polo Field in Calatagan, Batangas, are going on at a frantic pace.

While the field looks great, the Bamboo Pavilion is fabulous as it is majestically designed to accommodate the royalties of Brunei and Malaysia and the other rich and famous of the region who will watch the polo matches there.

United Polo Players Association (UPPA) chair and Rep. Mikee Romero (1Pacman Partylist) on Monday said that Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and the Malaysian King, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, are expected to watch several matches of the event played primarily by the elite of the society.

“We’re now excited since works are now in full blast, we want to have a first class field and first class competition,” said Romero. “We want to show that we Filipinos are capable of hosting an event as big as the SEA Games.”

Romero is hoping that the field and other facilities will be completed weeks before the Nov. 25 opening.

Romero is likewise confident that with the election of Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, polo will continue to flourish.

“Sports is now in good hands, since unity is Tolentino’s foremost goal,” said Romero, who once headed the shooting and cycling associations.

The former “godfather” of amateur basketball also challenged all heads of various national sports associations to focus on winning the overall championship of the biennial meet.