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Philippines, 23 Feb 2026 |
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SEA Games Wrestling Team at SCOOP PhilBoxing.com Fri, 30 Sep 2011 Two years ago in Laos, the 11-man Philippine wrestling team returned home from the 2009 edition of the Southeast Asian Games with three gold medals hanging on their necks, plus two silver medals and four bronze medals. The Filipino grapplers? nine total medal harvest ranked them fourth among the country?s winningest contingents that tied them with their boxing counterparts (5-1-3 gold-silver-bronze) behind the 14 of athletics (7-3-4), 12 of taekwondo (4-4-4) and 11 of swimming (4-6-1). All the three gold medalists, the two silver medal two of four bronze medal winners are still with this year?s team going to Indonesia for the 10th edition of the biennial Games, who according to PWA secretary general Karlo Villa and coach Carlo Canta, are capable of improving the medal collection to a minimum of five gold medals. ?Mahirap magsalita ng tapos, but we believe the need this year?s team is capable of bringing home more than the three gold medals we won in Laos,? Sevilla said during yesterday?s SCOOP Sa Kamayan weekly session at the Kamayan Restaurant-Padre Faura. Canta agreed, saying during the forum, sponsored by Coca Cola Export, FILA, TV-5 and UNTV, that at least five members of the team are in Inchun in South Korea on a two-month training in reference to Laos gold medalists Jason Balabal and the Angana wrestling brothers Margarito and Jimmy and bronze medalist Roque Mana-Ay. Other members of the team are Laos silver medalists Michael Beletin and Paolo delos Santos rookie Roberson Torres are conducting their build up at the PSCTraining Camp inside the Teachers Camp in Bsaguio City under the watchful eyes of coaches Rey Camposano and Violito Agustin. Laos bronze medal winners Melchor Tumasis and Maribel Jambora were deleted from the team by the Philippine Sports Commission for lack of funds, the former having defaulted the qualifying tournaments held by PWA and the latter because her women?s 45-kilogram event was scratched by the Indonesian SEA Games Organizing Committee. That, coupled the PSC?s scratching the name of Maria Cristina Vergara,a three-time SEA Games gold medalist from the list, left the PWA to decide not to send a women?s team. To improve on that 3-2-4 medal collection the Philippine Wrestling Association is begging the Philippine Sports Commission raise the eight-man squad had previously approved to 12, including several who excelled in the recently-ended Philippine National Games. As of this writing, PWA president Albert Balde was still in a meeting with the PSC high priests justifying why 12 and not eight should make up the national team. ?We in the PWA want to send no less than 12 wrestlers if only to surpass our three gold medal winning in Laos, ? Canta said, citing, to name one, Roxel Handog, who has been dominating his division in the national tournaments conducted by PWA, including the PNG. ?Those who were excluded might still be young and product only of the PNG, but I tell you, they can pull some surprise, ? Sevilla predicted. ?I may sound unrealistic, but I believe we can win as many as eight gold medals,? Canta said. ?Realistically though, five is very very doable.? Besides the SEA Games, Sevilla said the PWA is also focusing on the Asian Games, which is one of the qualifying tournaments for the Olympic Games. ?Our main target really at PWA is to end the Philippines 23-year jinx in the Olympic Games. Last time two Filipinos played in the Olympics was in 1988.  |
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