More than 30 aspirants will battle it out for the Magic 12 lineup when the Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas holds its final selection on Saturday and Sunday in La Trinidad, Benguet.
Nearly 50 martial artists from various parts of the country have joined the bubble training camp in coordination with the municipal government of La Trinidad.
The number has been reduced to those who will vie in the sparring-type semifinals and finals, which culminate the two-month training camp supported by the SKP president Senator Francis Tolentino and secretary-general Wharton Chan and the Philippine Sports Commission.
There are 12 weight categories in the kickboxing competition in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games which is expected to be reset in April or May next year.
The SKP coaching staff of Randy Caluag, Mark Sangiao, Donnie Geisler and Glenn Mondol will select 24 players to include the training partners.
Some of those who will be picked to compose the training pool will be sent to the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games slated for March 2022 in Thailand.
Leading the cast in the final tryouts are current national team mainstays and SEA Games gold medalists Jean Claude Saclag, Jerry Olsim and Gina Iniong.
SEAG silver medalists Jomar Balangui and Renalyn Dacquel and bronze finisher Karol Maguide also hope to retain their slots in the national team.
Tolentino also told the coaches to prepare for bigger tournaments like the World Championships as the world slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
