Team Philippines to compete in all sports in Cambodia SEA Games, to send 905 athletes

Team Philippines is set to participate in all of the sports in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games slated this May 5 to 17 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

According to the Philippines Olympic Committee (POC), the country will send a 1,233-strong delegation — with 905 athletes and 257 officials — in the biennial meet as Cambodia is set to host the events for the first time ever.

“I’m confident these are all fighting athletes,” POC president Bambol Tolentino said when he made the announcement during the General Assembly on Wednesday at the East Ocean Garden Restaurant in Pasay City.

“They will be competing in all the events despite the odds.”

For this SEAG edition, Cambodia has lined up 608 events in 38 sports but has a unique set of rules particularly in combat sports where except for the host, other countries can't field full teams in certain events.

The 905-strong delegation is a big development from the previous SEA Games where the Philippines sent just 656 athletes who participated in 38 sports. That edition saw the country finish with 226 medals composed of 52 gold, 70 silver, and 104 bronze medals.

The POC also scheduled a formal sendoff ceremony for Team Philippines on April 15 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News