RP contingent trimmed down

The joint Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Sports Commission Busan Asian Games Task Force yesterday announced that the country will send no more than 180 athletes to the quadrennial meet.

"Based on the figures the task force has gathered from our series of meetings in the past few weeks, we think we can field in 170 to 180 athletes in Busan," said task force chief Tom Carrasco of triathlon.

"It’s a small contingent but its also a very competitive one," added Carrasco. He also said sending a lean but mean delegation will help the government save money.

To-date, Carrasco said about 132 athletes passed the Asiad criteria set by the task force. He said they expect about 50 more athletes to make the team in time for the Asian Games scheduled Sept. 29 -Oct. 14.

The task force’s move to cut down on the number of athletes is in line with PSC chairman Eric Buhain’s intiative to reduce expenses for the government sports agency. The country sent 400 athletes and 200 coaches, technical and team officials to the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok but went home with a single gold medal.

The task force is also considering sending only 50 to 60 coaches, technical staff and delegation officials to Korea, bringing the estimated number of the Asiad-bound RP team to no more than 250.

"We want to send those who are qualified because the POC and the PSC want to save money," added Carrasco.

The bulk of these athletes will come from athletics, the Philippine Basketball Association-spiced cage squad, taekwondo, boxing, wushu, karatedo and judo.

National sports associations like football, volleyball, bodybuilding, squash, table tennis and badminton have already backed out from the Asiad, saying they would rather concentrate on the 2003 SEA Games in Vietnam.

Baseball, gymnastics, weightlifting, swimming, cycling and lawn tennis, all of which have failed to pass the guidelines, are still pinning their hopes on several qualifying tournaments abroad.

Gymnastics, for one, has sent a 10-man delegation to an international tournament in Vancouver, Canada aspiring to get one or two slots in the Asiad. The task force is currently evaluating the possibility of including Pia Adelle Reyes and Roel Ramirez, both silver medalists in the artistic event of their respective divisions in last year’s Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.

No swimmer except the retired Ryan Papa made it to the list of the task force but Carrasco said there is a strong chance for tankers Jenny Guerrero, Liza Danila and the Fil-Am duo of Juan Carlo Piccio and Miguel Mendoza.

There was also a team of cyclists that competed in the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia recently which could make it to the list while lawn tennis is looking for a strong Fil-Am netter who can give the country a chance to win a medal in the event.

The task force meets with Buhain and POC president Celso Dayrit today to discuss the Asian Games lineup and the budget allocation for the RP delegation.