SEA Games overall title defense will be 'uphill battle' for Philippines, POC president says

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino bared that the country's defense of the Southeast Asian Games overall championship won't come easy given the challenges the national athletes faced in the pandemic.

Tolentino stressed that athletes as well as the coaches had to hurdle several setbacks such as the lack of training facilities, some of which were used as government's quarantine spaces, and budget constraints.

The official said these issues could affect the overall title that the Philippines completed when it hosted the 2019 edition.

"Can we defend the overall championship? A lot has happened that makes it hard to answer that question," said Tolentino on Tuesday's Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

"First is the pandemic, it really affected the training and then Omicron came in. Second is the budgetary constraint, it has a lot of impact on the athletes' training and to the coaches. So, it's really an uphill battle."

As of now, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has called off some training of the national teams as the National Capital Region (NCR) and other bordering areas are placed under strict Alert Level 3, which prohibits close contact sports events and practices.

Some national sports associations (NSAs), though, resorted to training outside the capital in order to hit the ground running for the SEA Games, which kicks off on May 12 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Tolentino said that overseas training, which proved effective in the country's previous campaigns, won't be an option now as the Philippines continue to experience a spike in COVID-19 cases.

"I doubt if we can still have the chance for overseas training. We have to face the reality brought by the pandemic," added Tolentino. "It was becoming okay before but then the Omicron happened."

Despite these roadblocks, Tolentino beamed with optimism that the athletes set to action in the biennial meet will still give the country a better showing.

After all, the country hauled in a total of 387 medals in the 30th SEA Games.

"The delegation that will be sent was properly chosen. We still have a big chance to win [the overall title] because definitely, the NSAs will send their best athletes."

—JMB, GMA News