MANILA, 26 December 2003 — Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Eric Buhain has hailed the Philippine campaign in the just-concluded 22nd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Vietnam as a “big success.”.

Crediting the achievement to the athletes, Buhain said the 40-plus gold medal harvest of the Philippines was expected. “It’s a success,” said Buhain.

“We have achieved our goals, two goals to be exact, and all these were made possible because the athletes sacrificed a lot and fought hard and strong for flag and country.”

The Philippines wound up with 48 golds, 54 silvers and 75 bronzes to improve from fifth place overall in Kuala Lumpur in 2001 to fourth this year-four golds ahead of defending champion Malaysia.

Vietnam ruled the games with an incredible 158 golds, 97 silvers and 91 bronzes, followed by Thailand with 90-93-98 and Indonesia with 55-68-98.

Buhain also praised the support from Malaca?ang, saying President Macapagal-Arroyo herself made the athletes achieve their goals in the well-contested games in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Buhain noted that the 40-gold target was expected because of a monitoring scheme employed by a team of former national athletes, led by ex-judo champion Benjamin McMurray.

Go’s Army Eyes Olympic Slots

The tracksters, the Philippines’ most productive source of gold medals in the just-ended 22nd Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam are set to plunge into action again, with an eye on clinching slots in next year’s Athens Olympics.

Athletics chief Go Teng Kok said the athletes would soon go into deep training to try to meet the stringent criteria for Olympic participation.

The president of the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association also said he was not satisfied with the SEAG performance of his wards, even though the Philippines wound up second to Thailand in athletics.

The Thais plucked 13 golds, five more than the Filipinos’ harvest. Vietnam and Malaysia rode on surprise victories in the last two days of the competitions to match RP’s golden haul. Go earlier predicted the tracksters would win as many as 12 golds. But a disastrous penultimate day of competition saw four golds - which the heavily favored Filipino bets were expected to put away - slip off their grasp in the din of the Vietnamese offensive in Hanoi’s main stadium.

Cebu City Says Facilities Ready for 2005 SEAG Hosting

Cebu City yesterday reiterated its bid to become one of the regional hubs when the country hosts the Southeast Asian Games in 2005.

“We are ready to host at least six events without the national government spending a single centavo. Cebu City, with the help of the private sector, can make the job done,” Cebu City Sports Commission Chairman Jonathan Guardo said. “But we will still be happy even if we get to host only two or three events. We just want to share the spirit of the SEA Games with the Cebuanos.”

The bulk of activities for the SEA Games will be held in Metro Manila but the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) remains in the hunt to become one of the satellite hosts that will accommodate at least a couple of the calendared events. Guardo, who was designated by Cebu City government to coordinate with the POC in efforts to bring the games to the heart of Visayas, said finances for the hosting would come from the private sector and through local marketing efforts. Guardo has already submitted bidding documents in book-bound VCD and VHS forms to the POC early this year. They contain information about the proposed venues, amenities, hotel accommodation, tourist spots, food and Cebu’s local culture.

Athletes Receive P12m Gift for SEAG 4th Place Finish

President Arroyo and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo has instructed Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Eric Buhain to work for the speedy release of an estimated 12 million pesos in cash incentives to the medalists of the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games in time for next week’s Christmas celebrations.

The president and her husband hosted a victory party for the 48 gold, 54 silver and 75 bronze medalists at the Heroes’ Hall, where they told Buhain to coordinate with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chairman Efraim Genuino to expedite the release of the cash bonuses.

Under Republic Act 9064 or the Sports Incentives Act, a gold medalist is entitled to 100,000 pesos as reward for his achievement in the biennial SEA Games with the silver winner getting 50,000 pesos and the bronze medalist earning 10,000 pesos.

Mrs. Arroyo also used the occasion to express her appreciation for the athletes’ fine showing in the Vietnam SEAG where the country placed fourth overall.

Pacquiao, 3 Leading RP Boxers Rise in WBC Ratings

Featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao and three leading Cebuano boxers moved up in the latest rankings of the World Boxing Council, in effect making them candidates for world title fights next year.

The WBC formally installed Pacquiao as the mandatory challenger to the winner of a fight between No. 1 Injin Chi of Korea and No. 2 Michael Brodie of Great Britain.

Pacquiao had earlier expressed interest in winning a major title next year, prompting lawyer Rudy Salud to ask the WBC to install Pacquiao as next in line for the Chi-Brodie winner. Aside from Pacquiao, No. 2 strawweight Rodel Mayol, No. 3 superfly Malcolm Tu?acao, and No. 8 superbantam Jimrex Jaca also moved up in the rankings released Sunday by the Mexico-based world body.

Mayol improved to No. 2 following his stunning first-round demolition of erstwhile Orient Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) champ Genki Ohnaka last Dec. 7 in Tokuyama, Japan.

FPJ Invited to Witness Real Combat Challenge

Presidentiable Fernando Poe Jr., a known fan of combat sport specially boxing, has been invited to grace the 1st Mano-Mano Challenge which is set to unfold on Dec. 27 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Poe, acclaimed as the king of Philippine movies, is popular for his rapid punches that became his trademark in action moves, including “Totoy Bato”, a story about a retired boxing champion who was forced to fight underground.

“Mr. Poe was invited because his stature could help popularized mixed martial arts as a legitimate sport in the country,” Ed Dames, managing director of the organizing CEMG said. “Any politician or celebrity that can help the sport is welcome to the affair.”