BY NICK GIONGCO
CLARKFIELD, Pampanga – As the smoke of 12 intense days of action in the 30th Southeast Asian Games started to settle down, Chief of mission Butch Ramirez can now heave a sigh of relief.
during a meeting at the Malacañang Tueday where Roger Casugay was cited for his heroism during the surfing competition in the 30th SEA Games in San Juan, La Union. (Presidential photo)
Ramirez, also the chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the funding arm of the national athletes, admits there were obstacles that threatened the staging and success of the Games.
“We were able to pull it off,” said Ramirez on Wednesday just before heading to the New Clark City Athletics Stadium for the closing ceremonies.
But in the end, the 2019 SEAG turned out to be a December to remember.
Showing its indomitable spirit, the Philippines never let up on offense as it raced to the top of the medal standings with an opening day haul of 22.
There were days early in the Games when the output wasn’t as massive but entering the twilight zone, the Filipino athletes once again went on a gold medal-winning binge, collaring 23 three days before the closing.
In the end the Philippines had a grant total of 383 medals, including 149 golds, 117 silvers and 119 bronzes, the biggest production by the country since its 113 when it last hosted the biennial sportsfest in 2005.
There were major contributors to the victory.
Traditional martial arts arnis accounted for 14 gold medals, athletics hit 11, dancesport scooped 10, taekwondo grabbed eight, wushu and boxing had seven apiece and obstacle racing and skateboarding had six each.
Athletics made quite a lot of heads turn when it surpassed its initial target of about 5-6 gold medals.
It could have been a 14 had not been for the misfortune that struck Eric Cray (DQd for false start in the 100 heats), Carter Lilly’s shoving incident in the runup to the finish line in the 800 and Kristina Knott’s razor-thin defeat in the women’s 100.
Track and field head Philip Juico said the long-standing record of gold medals won in the SEAG is 13 in Singapore during the time of Lydia de Vega and Elma Muros but a check online showed that it was only 11.
“That’s what I have been told by people who were there in Singapore like Renato Unso so I took it as gospel truth,” said Juico, adding that he will ask his people at the Patafa to check once and for all.
Now that the party’s over, Ramirez is looking at the PSC’s main job next year: 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Scheduled July 24 to Aug. 9, the Philippines is hoping to cash in on the SEAG success to send as many qualifiers as possible and Ramirez said the PSC will be right behind any Filipino athlete aspiring to make the Olympic grade.
“Our focus is on athletes who have already qualified for the Olympics and those with solid chances of making it,” said Ramirez.
So far, only world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo and pole vaulter EJ Obiena have qualified.
But many are aching to join them and the PSC will buckle down to work the first day of 2020 to guarantee that the country’s chances of qualifying get a big boost.
Meanwhile, Malacanang is rolling out the red carpet for the winning athletes and their coaches on Dec. 18 with President Rodrigo Duterte personally awarding the cash incentives.
Based on the law, a SEAG gold is worth P300,000, a silver P150,000 and a bronze, P60,000. The Philippine Olympic Committee is pledging another P300,000 only for gold while the President also promised that an additional P250,000 be given to the gold medalist, P150,000 for the silver and P100,000 for bronze.
Yulo should be the winningest as he bagged two gold and five silver medals. Ramirez, beaming with pride, swears everyone “will have a memorable (2019) Holiday season.”
Indeed, a December to remember.
