Boxing heroes Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco Jr. and Leopoldo Serantes, bowling Hall-of-Famers Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno and Olivia “Bong” Coo will tell their stories of victory to inspire Filipino athletes bound for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
Together with track legends Lydia de Vega-Mercado and Elma Muros-Posadas, those great personalities will be in a festive get-together on Nov. 13 to send off the athletes who will be tasked to reclaim the overall title in the 11-nation event starting on Nov. 30.
No less than President Duterte will join them along with the country’s top sports officials during the “Team Philippines Send-off ng Bayan” at the newly refurbished Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.
All 1,115 Filipino athletes from 56 sports are expected to join the assembly as yesterday’s sports heroes share their secret recipes for success.
Philippine Sports Commission Commissioner Ramon Fernandez, a former national team standout during his prime, will also have his time to say some inspirational words.
Bamboo, known as the Prince of Philippine Rock, will be the main act during the entertainment segment of the sendoff ceremony where the theme song of Team Philippines will also be unveiled.
The Philippines last hosted the Games in 2005 and won the overall title with an astounding haul of 112 gold medals and 290 overall.
Thailand finished second that year with 87 gold medals and 117 bronzes making up the bulk of its 283 tally.
Team Philippines also had 85 silver and 93 bronze medals.
The country will be banking heavily on combat sports like taekwondo, boxing, karatedo, judo, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, arnis, wushu, wrestling and muay as primary gold-medal sources in the Games.
Other medal-rich events are athletics, aquatics, billiards, chess, dancesport, triathlon, traditional boat race, weightlifting, golf and team sports basketball, softball, baseball, ice hockey and rugby sevens.