HOSTILITIES in the 30th Southeast Asian Games has already began even as the official opening ceremony is set this Saturday at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, but unfortunately our polo team lost its inaugural game to Brunei in a close match but bounced back against defending champion Malaysia.
Nobody said winning the gold, even in our home turf, is going to be easy.
But what is not good is the fact that negative news not related to the games have surfaced, especially on social media.
Sure there are going to be problems on transportation, meals, and accommodations but the attention should not be focused on them. I would rather read news on the games themselves. Sadly, politics again reared its ugly head with questions regarding the expenses for the event, highlighted by the P50-million cauldron at the New Clark City.
Also, there were some facilities that still have finishing touches not yet completed, again, drawing flak from Monday quarterbacks who have nothing to do with the games but criticize left and right, which does not help at all.
Looking at the expenses first, yes, I agree that there are questions to be asked but the timing is wrong as our politicians on opposite sides take turns in lambasting each other, turning hysterical and historical, fanned by the space given by mainstream media.
If the organizers themselves released a statement apologizing for the inconveniences suffered by some foreign teams but more importantly, taking responsibility for it and promising to work on the problems, it is the other way around for politicians who simply keep blaming one another.
And mind you, organizing events of this magnitude, the number of participants, both local and foreign, the number of arrivals by plane every day, the hotel accommodations and vehicles, the manpower needed to run all of these matters in a synchronized manner and for people who have not experienced this yet, then I hope they should not be so loose with their criticisms.
No matter how you plan something this big, something will go wrong somewhere, somehow, some time. That is Murphy’s law, if something can go wrong, it will. All I am saying is people should be more understanding of the logistical nightmare of organizing the SEA Games.
Even the foreign coach who was affected by the accommodation problem said he was not happy about the fact that media people were asking questions more on their problems than about sports. For him, these things do happen but it should not make people lose focus of what is the more important thing or things to consider.
Anyway, enough for that matter but I just need to clarify that I am not an apologist for the organizers and after the games, I will raise my own questions, but please not now.
I will be in Subic this weekend and having been granted a media accreditation that I have yet to pick up, I will definitely cover the first two days of triathlon there and I expect this discipline to produce our first gold. I will also drop by the gym to see how our sepak takraw team will perform. You see I spent one whole day with the players and some coaches of the team for a mini team building session and mental strengthening, something they really appreciated, and something I did for free as promised to sepak takraw head Karen Tanchanco Caballero, someone I believe really cares for sports. A gold medal or even two would be possible here.
From there, I will go back to Manila and watch the events like men’s basketball, another sure gold for PH both in the five- and three-man events.
I will also watch women’s volleyball games. I believe their chances of a podium finish is high but it may be difficult to secure the gold medal. I am sorry but without the likes of sisters Jaja and Dindin Santiago and Kalei Mau’s ineligibility, the chances of fighting for the gold definitely diminished.
I hope they prove me wrong though.
On December 8, given the chance, I would like to go to Clark and see the finals of the men’s and women’s softball, and men’s baseball too. All these teams I expect to win the gold particularly our Blu Girls even if Singapore is supposed to have really prepared for this year. But since I only have one body and have other things to do, I will have to watch the other events on television. No New Clark trip for me for the athletics and swimming events there.
And again to be very objective about it, sorry I simply do not see us winning 200 golds. It’s just too much to be realistic. But I maintain that we will have a chance for a top three finish with a fighting chance for the overall crown against Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Go Philippines. We win as one!
To our politicians, please go home for the mean time and allow our athletes to focus on their respective sports.
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