All SEAG medalists form elite group; 10 ‘priorities’ bared

June Navarro and Marc Anthony Reyes

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino gold medalists in the 26th Southeast Asian Games will get a special citation from the Philippine Sportswriters Association when it holds its Annual Awards Night on March 3 at the Manila Hotel.
Double gold medalists Iris Ranola of billiards and Francisco Alquiros of bridge lead the 36 Filipino athletes who topped their respective events during the biennial meet held in Jakarta, Palembang and West Java.
Other notable gold medal winners include Marestella Torres, who shattered the meet record in the women’s long jump, and bowler Frederick Ong, the most bemedalled among the Filipino delegation with five, including the gold in men’s singles.
The 512-strong PH athletes also grabbed 55 silver medals and 75 bronze medals to finish in sixth place in the two-week event held last November.
All 36 gold medalists share centerstage on this night when the sportswriting fraternity bestows on pool king Dennis Orcollo and boxing champion Nonito Donaire Jr. the 2011 Athletes of the Year title.
Torres was PSA co-Athlete of the Year in 2009 when she won the gold in the same event during the Asian Championships.
Vice President Jejomar Binay will be gracing the event presented by Smart, Milo, SM Prime Holdings, ICTSI, the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Harbour Centre, Philippine Basketball Association, and Coca-Cola, where the top achievers of the past year will be honored.
Still being deliberated are other recipients of major awards in different sports, according to PSA president Rey Bancod of Tempo.
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MANILA, Philippines—All 162 individual medalists of the Philippine contingent that fell to a record low sixth place overall in the Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia last November were elevated by the Philippine Sports Commission Thursday to the elite group of athletes who will be trained extensively for the 2012 SEAG in Myanmar.
At the same time, the PSC announced the list of 10 sports, led by boxing and taekwondo, that will be given priority funding under a directive from President Aquino to channel limited funding to events where the country is considered strong.
Completing the select list which will avail of a total budget of P108 million were athletics, swimming, wushu, archery, wrestling, bowling, weightlifting and billiards.
PSC chair Richie Garcia announced that the 29 individual winners plus the 65 silver and 68 bronze medalists will receive specialized training, foreign exposure and huge monthly allowances beginning next month until next year’s SEA Games.
Garcia said the PSC will spend P4.8 million per month just for the allowances of the 162 priority athletes or P57.6 million a year aside from the cost of billeting and accommodation, foreign training and exposure and nutrition.
“We’re prepared to spend that amount for this program. If they don’t win in the next SEA Games, they will be removed from the list,” said Garcia. “If you don’t get a medal (in Myanmar), your allowance will be discontinued unless your sport is a priority.”
The select sports were ranked based on their medal potential with boxing and taekwondo to get P35 million each, athletics, swimming and wushu P12 million each, archery, wrestling, bowling and weightlifting P10 million each and bowling P8 million.
Shooting, an Olympic sport with a lot of medals at stake like athletics and swimming, failed to make it to the priority roster, but it was included as “a rebuilding sports” with a P10 million budget.
The top athletes in the last SEA Games were Iris Rañola of billiards, Frederick Ong of bowling, long jumper Marestella Torres, GM Wesley So, boxers Charly Suarez and Dennis Galvan, cyclists John Renee Mier and Alfie Catalan and wrestlers Jason Balabal and Margarito Angana, among others.

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