TWENTY tracksters, who bagged medals in the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, are a cinch to get slots for the national athletics’ team bound for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta Indonesia.
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association Philip Ella Juico said the PATAFA will expect the best from them after members of the Team Pilipinas plunged into early training last October.
“We started as early as October. We are among the few national sports associations which started (preparing) almost a year before the Asiad,” said Juico.
Juico said they were able to go into an early buildup despite a lack of funding support from the Philippine Sports Commission.
Double gold medallists Trenten Beram leads the cast of favorites after bagging the gold medals in the men’s 200-meter run and in the 400-meters.
Beram, a Filipino-American, distinguished himself by shattering the national mark in the 200-meters in 20.84 seconds.
Overall, athletics’ got five golds, three silvers and 10 bronze medals, with sprinter Eric Cray, marathon queen Mary Joy Tabal and decathlete Aries Toledo claiming the other first-place finishes.
Juico explained that preparations went on without a hitch and with support from the private sector.
The PSC, according to Juico, could not provide funding assistance at the moment to the PATAFA since the sports body is still waiting for the funding requests of two more national sports associations that are seeking the agency’s help, before it can release any funding allocation to NSAs who need help.
Also expected to get slots are Marco Vilog (800 meters) and triple jumper Mark Harry Diones, two national team members who earned golds.
Mervin Guarte (1500-meters), one of the 10 bronze medallists, is one of the sure bets, along with Clinton Bautista (100-meter hurdles), 100-meter relay specialists Anfernee Lopena, Archand Bagsit, and 400-meter relay team members Edgardo Alejan Jr. and Isidro del Prado Jr.
The PATAFA is also counting on long jumper Janry Ubas, javelin thrower Arnel Ferrera and Melvin Calano, women’s 100-meter relay bets Eloiza Luzon, Kayla and Kyla Richardson and Zion Corrales-Nelson, long jumper Marestella Sunang and female javelin thrower Evalyn Palabrica.
Of his two golds, the 21-year-old Beram got his best effort when he prevailed in the 200-meter dash, beating Thailand’s Arapong Meenapra, who earned the silver with 21.22 seconds.
Another rival, Malaysia’s Thevarr Gunasegaran, who settled for bronze with a time of 21.26 seconds, is also expected to be a contender in the Asiad.