8 CEBUANOS MAKE ASIAN GAMES TEAM

Young golfers Weiwei Gao, Peter Tyler Po to represent PHL in Asian Games

Cebuano athletes are deep in their training as they prepare to suit up for the country in the 2018 Asian Games on Aug. 18 to Sept. 2 in Indonesia. The eight made the partial list of Asian Games delegates released by Philippine Sports Commission’s Ramon Fernandez to Cebu’s sports scribes.

Those who made the list are marathoner Mary Joy Tabal; young golfers Peter Tyler Po III and Weiwei Gao; bowler Jo Mar Roland Jumapao; judoka Kiyomi Watanabe; and skateboarder Margielyn Didal.

In team sports, Rheyjey Ortuoste made the sepak takraw squad and Roger Pogoy made the basketball team.

Most of these Cebuano athletes are abroad for their Asiad training.

One of them is Gao, an ace shotmaker for Alta Vista Golf and Country Club (AVGCC) in Cebu City, who’s currently in Jakarta. Gao has represented the country in the Southeast Asian (Sea) Games but this will be his first time to be in the quadrennial sporting meet.

“My preparation for Asian Games is really going well; we are in Jakarta right now. I am currently on the course for practice. I’m really excited to represent the Philippines,” Gao told SunStar Cebu in an interview.

The reigning club champion Po of the Cebu Country Club (CCC) is also a first-timer in Asiad. The two Cebuano golfers will be joining Ruperto Zaragoza and Luigi Paolo Wong in the men’s team.

Cebu’s running pride Tabal is also in the midst of her training for her first Asiad. The 28-yearold long-distance runner is on a high-altitude training in Italy.

“My condition feels good. What I need now is to develop more my endurance before I can say that I’m fully ready for Asiad. This week marks my first month in high-altitude training,” said Tabal.

The Sea Games gold medalist Tabal, who has been training with the Tuscany Camp since last March, said that she has mixed emotions for the coming Asiad.

“I’m a bit excited because I want to see how my training went. I feel nervous also. But I’m greatly honored to represent our country in the Asian Games. Giving my best is the least I can do,” she said.

The female skateboarder Didal is also busy with the preparation as she is set to join the X-Games in Minneapolis, USA on July 17 to 20 followed with a week-long skate camp in Pennsylvania. /