PSC Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William “Butch” Ramirez called on sports leaders and the public to look at the bigger picture about the Philippines’ campaign in the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Vietnam instead of criticizing the athletes.
Ramirez said several athletes who were expected to bring home gold medals have fallen short of their target.
From third in the first week of the competition, Team Philippines slid to fifth in the current medal tally with 43 gold medals, 59 silvers, and 82 bronzes.
Vietnam is leading with a very wide margin with a 164-97-96 (gold-silver-bronze) haul to top the medal tally followed by Thailand (67-77-108), Indonesia with (49-69-63), and Singapore (47-44-63).
“We must remind everyone that our taking part in the Vietnam SEA Games has a bearing in our build-up to our competing in bigger international competitions such as the Asian Games and Olympics. Let us look at the bigger picture,” Ramirez said.
“Let us not judge or criticize our athletes who have competed and are still competing in Vietnam. Let us not discourage them and continue to support them all the way. There will be a time and place for that.”
“We will continue to pray for their safety and health, whatever their performance. We are very happy and proud of our athletes and coaches who fought hard for our country and people. Keep the fighting spirit alive as our Filipino athletes show their resilience in achieving their goals for our beloved country.”
Ramirez has been monitoring the national team’s progress in Hanoi and surrounding areas, and cited the national judo team as a prime example of overcoming challenges even before they headed for Vietnam.
The Filipino judokas were without the services of Kiyomi Watanabe and Mariya Takahaski, who won gold medals in the 2019 Philippine SEA Games, because of injury and academics, respectively.
Despite the disadvantage, the judokas bagged two gold medals courtesy of Rena Furukawa and Shugen Nakano.
“This is the kind of robust resourcefulness and heart we expect from our athletes and their sports leaders, who don’t give excuses but do what needs to be done for their respective sport. We salute Sulit and the national judo team!” Ramirez exclaimed.
On Saturday, Cebuana billiards star Rubelin Amit won her second gold medal of the Games by winning in the all-Filipina women’s 10-ball singles final at Ha Dong Gymnasium.
The multi-titled Mandaue City player bested Chezka Centeno in the finals. Amit won the 9-ball singles gold last Tuesday. /rcg
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