PHL wrestlers target SEAG overall crown

The Philippine national wrestling team will settle for nothing less than the overall crown in their event in the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia in November. National team coach Carlomagno Canta said their target is doable based on the Filipino wrestlers' performance in the 2009 SEA Games in Laos. "If with a depleted lineup we were able to end up second overall in Laos the last time around with only three gold medals, winning the top position is very very much doable." Laos SEA Games gold medalist Margarito Angana supported his coach's prediction, saying that they have been training hard since last year, making them ready for the competitions, which will be held at the Jakabaring Sports Complex in Palembang. "Although the team has not yet been formed officially, those who can eventually make it are already raring to go to Indonesia with one aim in mind – win the overall title in wrestling," Angana said in Filipino. Angana, his brother Jimmy and Jason Balabal accounted for the country's three gold medals two years ago in Vientiane. "Jason, who brought home a gold in his rookie year, is much much stronger this year, while Jimmy still looks unbeatable in his division," said Canta. "We can form a much better team this year because our athletes have been receiving support from both the wrestling association and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)." Canta and Angana said the failure of veteran internationalists Roxel Tandog and Melchor Tumasis to earn spots in the national team for the Laos SEA Games prevented the country from clinching the overall crown in wrestling. Tandog is still trying to earn a spot in the national squad, while a frustrated Tumasis retired and turned to coaching. "Noon kasi, right after the SEA Games, the team was disbanded, pero ngayon halos karamihan na-reinstate, while the papers of the rest, we were told, are already being completed, said Canta." With the absence of international tournaments, especially for the 21-member national training pool, the team has been working out six days a week. The Angana brothers — Jimmy and Margarito — and Balabal, the defending champions in their respective weight divisions, are already assured of spots in the men's team, while sisters Christina and Maribel Jambora, both veteran campaigners, will be leading the women's squad. Former national team mambers Paulo Delos Santos, Michael Baletin, Jerry Angana and Roque Mana-ay are also hoping to regain their seats in the men's team. – JVP, KY, GMA News