by Rey Bancod
More than 400 athletes have so far made the grade for the Southeast Asian Games this August in September, according to the head of the joint task force tasked with forming the team.
Tom Carrasco said the number could still rise in the next few weeks before the deadline of the submission of entries by name.
Carrasco, who is also the secretary general of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines, said he will meet with Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Butch Ramirez this week to discuss the preliminary list.
The country is set to compete in all 38 sports except for cricket. These include obscure sports like ice hockey, figure skating, waterskiing, petanque, lawn balls and netball.
Aquatics, which is made up of swimming, diving, water polo and open water swimming, stakes the most number of gold medals – 60.
Carrasco said 12 swimmers have so far qualified based on the bronze medal time of the previous Games in Singapore.
At least 12 will come from athletics, according to Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA) secretary-general Renato Unso.
In the event that the PSC will insist on a smaller delegation, Carrasco said they may adopt “have money, will travel” policy.
Two years ago, the country sent 472 athletes to Singapore where it garnered 29 golds, 36 silvers and 66 bronzes.
