Fernandez sees no need to reinvent wheel

Newly appointed Team Philippines chef de mission Ramon Fernandez is inclined to adopt a tested blueprint for success in the coming 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.

“We don’t have to change the formula on how we did it in the last SEA Games. We’ll send the athletes to compete at the highest level in top tournaments all over the world,’’ Fernandez told the Inquirer.

By sending Filipino athletes to the most challenging competitions with the harshest conditions all over the world, Team Philippines was able to rule the SEA Games it hosted on the latter part of 2019.

Fernandez, a commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission, said setting up the training of athletes bound for the Hanoi Games on Nov. 21 to Dec. 2 would depend on the availability of a coronavirus vaccine.

“I’m really hoping that by May or June, our athletes have already been vaccinated for them to resume the kind of training that they normally do,’’ Fernandez said.