THE Philippine men’s football squad, cricket and chess players will begin the country’s quest for glory in the Cambodian Southeast Asian Games 2023 on April 29, ahead of the opening ceremony on May 5 at the Morodok Techo Stadium in Phnom Penh.
The Philippine men’s under-22 national team has already arrived in Cambodia to train and will take on Indonesia Olympic National Stadium. It next faces host Cambodia on May 2 and Timor Leste on May 4.
In cricket, the Philippines take on host Cambodia in a preliminary match on April 29, while the chess competition also gets going with preliminaries in the men’s 5-minute singles and 60-minute quadruples.
The Filipino indoor hockey team begins its campaign against Thailand in both the men’s and women’s preliminaries at the Dinosaur Park Hall, Chroy Changvar on May 1. The sailing competition also starts on the same day.
Filipino athletes will all see action in chess, cricket, sailing, football, and hockey on the next day up until May 5 when competitions take a halt to give way to the opening ceremonies at the Morodok Techo Stadium.
The action goes full swing in 38 sports for the next two weeks with Vietnam aiming to retain the overall championship of the biennial meet among neighbors in the Southeast Asian region.
The Philippines is sending 840 athletes, bigger than last time in Vietnam, where the Philippines sent 656 and brought home 226 medals (52-70-104 gold-silver-bronze tally) for a fourth-place finish.
POC president Rep. Bambol Tolentino said the increase in number was caused by the POC’s decision to join more team events, including men’s and women’s crickets, basketball, and football.
“Marami tayong sinalihan na hindi natin alam paano lalaruin. Para bang hindi tayo papayag na hindi natin laruin kasi maraming formula na ginawa ang hosts. The only way to increase or sustain everything, salihan natin lahat. Madali naman practice-in pag aralan ‘yun,” Tolentino said.
When Manila hosted the 2019 SEA Games, 1,119 Filipino athletes saw action in 56 events to bag the overall championship with 119 gold medals.
The Cambodia-bound Team Philippines was given a fitting sendoff on Monday at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. The country’s campaign will be led by chief of mission Chito Loyzaga baseball and deputies Paolo Tancontian (sambo) and Leonora Escollante (canoe-kayak).