MANILA, 23 August — The Philippines is capable of winning at least 14 gold medals in the coming Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. This was the assessment of Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Eric Buhain when asked about the country’s chances in the two-week long competition considered as the Olympics of Asia.

The multi-awarded swimmer-turned-sports official said the country can win three gold medals each from billiards, wushu and judo and two each from bowling and taekwondo and one from rowing.

His personal choices as probable gold medalists for the country are Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Efren “Bata” Reyes, who can win as many as three gold medals between them; Roberto Cruz and Donald Geisler, who can bring home the golds in taekwondo; and World Cup champion Paeng Nepomuceno, who can stamp his class in bowling. Veteran Benjamin Tolentino can also spring a surprise in rowing.

Aside from the six sports mentioned, Buhain also expressed confidence that athletics, boxing, gymnastics, karatedo, softball and swimming will deliver several medals for the country.

In 1998, the country bagged only a solitary gold medal in Bangkok courtesy of Gandy Valle and Snooky Villanueva in billiards.

Jao dominates Super Bike race

Five-time champion Jolet Jao of Shell Advance-Rolex Engineering is dominating this year’s Shell Advance Super Bike Championships again.

Jao pulled away in the overall standings and moved on the verge of winning his sixth title since 1996 after posting back-to-back victories in the seventh and eighth rounds in one-sided fashion in Rosario, Batangas. Jao also won the title in 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001.

So unstoppable was Jao that most of his closest rivals appear ready to concede even with still four rounds left in the annual series organized by the Batangas Racing Circuit and sanctioned by the National Motorcycle Sports and Safety Association (Namssa). The 37-year-old Jao, who is being supported by Shell Advance Motorcycle Oils and Rolex Engineering, is now way ahead in the overall standings with an eight-leg aggregate of 190 points based on the 25-20-17-13-11 scoring system.

Jao’s main opponent, Toti Alberto, is too far behind in second place with 165 points. Rod Scott is third with 148 points, Rey Relativo is fourth with 108 points and Jeff Andres is fifth with 104 points.

Floirendo, Silverio shine in car GP

Team Fujitsu-Tom’s-Shell Racing posted a big sweep after lead drivers Vincent Floirendo and Jojo Silverio shared honors in Rounds 5 and 6 of the Philippine National Touring Car Championship in the 2002 PCSO Grand Prix at the Batangas Racing Circuit.

Their victories snapped Caltex Havoline-Autoplus skipper Jody Coseteng’s winning streak in this event.

Floirendo scored the upset as he unveiled a decisive move in the final three laps to snatch the pole from Coseteng and post his first win after a year-long hiatus.

He stuck close to Coseteng after Silverio suffered a ceased engine on the third lap and came side-by-side with the defending champion at the backstretch of the 11th lap.

Floirendo grabbed pole at the turn but Coseteng managed to get it back at the straight.

Then the two came side-by-side again at the next chicane. Coseteng had the nose edge but a quick gearshift pulled Floirendo past his Caltex-Autoplus rival and pulled away for the win.

Ace NCAA player banned

The NCAA management committee cracked the whip on Mapua’s Jeff Martin who was banned for the rest of the season after he continued to display unsportsmanlike conduct despite a previous warning from the league’s disciplinary body.

Martin, a cocky, trash-talking point guard, once again drew the ire of league officials for trying to instigate a fight with St. Benilde players in the dying seconds of their game last week at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The game ended in forfeiture after Mapua officials ordered its players to walk out of the game with St. Benilde enjoying a 65-50 lead with 10 seconds left. Martin was suspended for three games last month for a punching foul on St. Benilde’s Paolo Orbeta.

Fr. Bede Hechanova of host San Beda, who chairs the management committee, said he has personally informed Mapua board representative Ding Lozano of their decision to ban Martin for the rest of the league’s 78th season.

Bede added that Martin, presently nursing a knee injury, will be banned permanently from the league if the latter commits a similar offense once he is allowed to plunge back into action.

323 delegates off to Busan

The joint Philippine Olympic Committee-Philippine Sports Commission Asian Games task force yesterday approved a 323-member delegation to the Sept. 29-Oct. 14 meet in Busan, South Korea.

Task force head and chief of mission Tom Carrasco said 217 athletes would make up the team which is seeking to improve on its measly one-gold showing in the 1998 edition in Bangkok. They would be accompanied by 106 officials, coaches and medical personnel.

The task force granted the all-pro basketball team’s request for more time in deciding the final composition of its 12-man roster. Team officials, who have named 15 players, said they would decide on the final 12 after the squad’s two-game exhibition with Chinese Taipei next week.

Carrasco said the 323-man list would be presented to the POC executive board for final approval next week. Any change in the line-up particularly additions, would only happen if the executive board gives in to the appeals of four national sports associations, whose recommended athletes were thumbed down by the task force.

Earlier, the task force gave a projection of 180 athletes but the roster bloated after the POC executive board “relaxed” the criteria for selecting the team members, allowing the entry of the 18-player baseball team and one “token” entries each from squash, table tennis, badminton and lawn tennis.

Four or nothing

Lawn tennis association president Salvador Andrada yesterday blasted the decision of the selection committee to allow just one tennis player to compete in the Busan Asian Games.

He wanted four, otherwise, he said no tennis player — or official — will go to the games..

“It’s four or nothing,” he said one day after the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) released the list of athletes bound for the Asian Games that showed tennis with one slot.

Andrada also warned the POC that he himself will not attend the games if his request is not granted.

“It is useless and a waste of money to send only one athlete. By having two men and two women, we can compete in the singles, doubles, mixed doubles and team events,’’ he said.

Tennis has been lumped along with badminton, squash and table tennis as events where the Philippines will be sending only token athletes because none of the bets from these associations passed the criteria set by the POC-PSC Task Force.

The POC has allowed one athlete for each of these NSAs and that one must be 22 years old or younger.

POC president Celso Dayrit argued that the age limit is designed to give exposure to promising athletes.

Andrada named Johnny Arcilla, Joseph Victorino, Czarina Mae Arevalo and Patricia Santos to the team as credible entries to the games.

Baguio judokas sparkle

The Baguio judokas stamped their class anew in the 2002 National Junior Judo Championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Baguio squad bagged seven gold medals, four silvers and four bronze medals and sent strong message that the Highland team is a force to reckon with in the sport.

Bringing home the gold are Max Daw-as of the Baguio Colleges Foundation representing the Kaitagi Judo club (-60 kg) men’s category; Marvinson Bullet of the University of Baguio (-73 kg); Jeffrey Nang-is, UB (-90 kg men’s); Francis Lopez, UB (-100 kg men’s); Jennelyn Abaya, UB (-45 kg women’s); Norilyn Oblades, BCF-Kaitagi (-57 kg women’s) and Glenda Lumaang of BCF-Kaitagi (-63 kg women’s).

The silver medalists include Anthony Daw-as also of BFC-Kaitagi (-55 kg men’s); Romel Carasi BCF-Kaitagi (-81 kg men’s); Randolf Daw-as of Saint Louis University (-100 kg men’s) and Karen Astudillo of UB (-63 kg women’s).

The city is slowly reclaiming its distinction as the country’s top medal producer three years after training was concentrated in Manila forcing many national team members to quit from training.

RP cyclists assured of

Langkawi slot

Victor Espiritu flashed vintage form in the mountains and the RP-Air 21 National Cycling Team reaped the immediate benefit of his daring ride, a top 3 slot in the Asian category of the 1st Gamuda Eagle Tour of Malaysia

Espiritu matched skills and spunk with the best of Asia and Europe to finish the 70-km 3rd lap in 1:52:07, 3:26 behind stage winner Simone Mori of Team Hura Suisse Nip, but good enough to steer the Filipinos to 3rd place in the Asian standings. Only the top three teams in Asia will get berths to the Le Tour de Langkawi.

Espiritu said the team could have done better had it not been for the rainy season back in Manila. The Filipinos beat Indonesia, host Malaysia, China, Chinese-Taipei, Mongolia, Albania, Vietnam, Thailand and Korea, in that order.

Only the Asian-leading Iran, bannered by Asian Games gold medalist Ghader Mizbani, and second-running Japan, had better times than the Filipinos.