Padding SEAG haul

Since the Philippines is hosting the Southeast Asian Games in 2019, the local organizing committee has the power to select sports which the country has a lopsided chance of winning. Aside from dictating the venues, schedule of practices and matches, the host country can determine not just which optional sports to add, but also how many events and medals each one will stake. There are, unknown to many, sports in which the Philippines is inarguably the best on ASEAN. While some countries can add more aquatic sports or indigenous sports (like the martial art tarung derajat in Indonesia), the country has a several traditionally non-Olympic sports in its arsenal.

Dancesport. In 2005, Cebu hosted the SEA Games dancesport competition and gave the host two gold medals (one each for the five Latin and five Standard dances) even before the opening ceremonies had begun. Team Cebu City Dancesport also spearheaded the successful Guinness World Record attempt for largest dance class in 2008. In fact, in the subsequent SEA Games in Thailand, the organizers assigned the sport 10 gold medals, one for each dance, which is never done. By influencing the judging, they made off with most of the golds.

Bodybuilding. Definitely a sport where the country dominates. The National Athletic Committee Philippines is hosting the NAC World Championships this year. Cheryl Nakanishi won the country’s first overall women’s title at the Mr. & Ms. Universe in Germany in November. The first Asian Fitness Expo and Competition is being held here, and in 2015, Stephen Chua Caedo and Patrick Tan won the top two spots in Singapore’s prestigious “Muscle Wars” contest. The country will also host the second consecutive “Muscle Beach” competition. The popularity of the Physique category has spread like wildfire among young professionals and students. In Southeast Asia, Filipino bodybuilders are practically unbeatable.

Billiards. Without a doubt, the sport wherein Filipinos can practically sweep. Since 1999, the nation has been an undisputed world power in the sport, both for men and women. Imagine if there were men’s and women’s individual and team events in rotation, 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball and snooker. There would be over a dozen gold medals at stake, perhaps the biggest number outside of athletics and swimming. It would be an embarrassment of riches to list down those who might not even be able to qualify for the Philippine team.

Bowling. Had the lobby to include bowling as a medal sport in the Olympics not lost steam, the country might have already won multiple golds since 1992. Thirty years ago, Arianne Cerdeña won a gold in the Seoul Games when bowling was introduced as a non-medal sport. Since then, male and female bowlers from the Philippines have won the World Cup and almost every international award there is. Also on the plus side, athletes can win multiple medals.

3 on 3. Filipinos have proven adept at winning internationally in the street version of basketball since three-on-three was formally introduced in the country in 1996. The Philippines is also hosting the World Championships later this year. Besides, it’s a no-brainer. It’s basketball, and this is the Philippines.

Tchoukball. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines has been a close second to Singapore in both men’s and women’s events of tchoukball. The country has also placed in the top 10 in the world in both categories in beach tchoukball. Playing at home and in front of family might finally give the added push for Filipinos to finally be number one. Besides, wouldn’t it be nice for foreign athletes to experience Filipino hospitality in Bacolod? They would certainly not forget it.

Arnis. Since not every country in ASEAN has arnis, it would be a cinch to rack up golds here. There are individual and team events, single stick, double stick, sword and dagger (espada y daga), sparring and kata (anyo). This means an abundance of gold medals. Matches are only a few minutes long, so everything can be finished in two days. The big question is which federation will be authorized to organize: Arnis Philippines (ARPI) or PEKAF?

Jiu Jitsu. The Philippines has a world champion in Meggie Ochoa, who topped her weight class in the Abu Dhabi Worlds in London, and two silver medalists. With the rise of mixed martial arts, jiu jitsu is now taught in dozens of clubs in Metro Manila. Most major opposition comes from Europe and Brazil, which are not in Southeast Asia.

Beyond these additional sports, restoring categories in boxing and the martial arts will pad the host country’s medal tally. We don’t need to mess with scoring and officiating to win the overall championship. We can do it fairly.