Pinoys ready for biggest Asiad ever

BUSAN—Let the Games begin.

These words will officially signal the start of the 14th Asian Games in this bustling port city today with the Philippines confident of putting up a brave, bold stand against the very best athletes the whole of Asia could offer.

More than 200 Filipino sportsmen, from the dreaded cue artists to the fancied cagers and the battle-scarred boxers, will take part in the Games. Each one of them is dearly hoping to bring home the gold and, in return, win a lot of cash under the government’s sport incentive package.

A total of 44 countries are taking part in the biggest Asian Games ever. It will be a huge, colorful and rare gathering of 11,000 athletes, some of whom are reigning World and Olympic champions.

North Korean athletes are also here and, for the first time since the Korean War that broke out almost half a decade ago, are competing in a sportsfest hosted by the South Koreans.

The opening ceremony, with all its pomp and pageantry, is set at 6 p.m. at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium, a splendid work-of-art that needed almost five years and a whopping $180 million to finish. It can house 80,000 spectators although organizers have yet to confirm the attendance of South Korean president Kim Dae-jung.

"Exciting," beamed Philippine Sports Commission chairman Eric Buhain as he looked forward to the two-week event where the Philippines is hoping to improve on its dismal finish four years ago in Bangkok.

The Philippines, represented by close to 400 athletes, won just a single gold, five silver and a dozen bronze medals after so many nights in Bangkok — a sad, open testament to the decline of local sports through the years.

But all of these will change once the Filipino athletes deliver in any of the 30 sports events they are competing in.

"This is it," said Buhain, winner of five gold medals in swimming during the 1991 Manila Southeast Asian Games. He was coach of the RP swim team in the 1998 Asiad, helping Ryan Papa win the bronze in the 100- and 200- meter backstroke.

Though action in some events has started as early as Friday due to large number of entries, today’s opener still remains a can’t-miss event for the people of South Korea, their adrenalin flowing as a result of their tremendous success in the World Cup last June.

The RP basketball team, for its part, played its first game yesterday afternoon and beat the United Arab Emirates by a mile, heading into the interesting match against North Korea Monday.

The only Filipinos seeing action and hopefully vying for the gold today are the RP fencers who arrived here Thursday night with the main bulk of the RP delegation. Rolando Canlas Jr. will compete in the men’s foil individual preliminary while Richard Gomez, the famous actor, and Avelino Victorino will vie in the men’s epee individual preliminary. The finals of both events are scheduled tonight.