Last five wishes for 2018
Here are the last five of 20 wishes for 2018.
For years, the row in swimming has remained dead in the water, unmoving and unresolved. The NSA is the Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) but its president Mark Joseph appears to be managing things by remote control from an unknown location. The rival Philippine Swimming League (PSL), led by former Sen. Nikki Coseteng, is moving forward to develop young homegrown talents even as the PSI refuses to consider the prodigies for the national team.
The athletes are confused and caught in the middle of a bitter feud that the POC doesn’t care to settle. There must be peace and unity in swimming because the sport is suffering from the dissension. At the SEA Games last year, swimming delivered no gold medal for the Philippines as the haul consisted of only three silvers and four bronzes.
Young blood is pumping new life into the sport with the exploits of teeners Bryan Otico, Iggy Pantino, A. J. Lim, Miko Eala and many others. However, things could go a lot smoother if only the tennis leaders agree to combine forces. At the moment, lawyer Antonio Cablitas heads the Philippine Tennis Association of Philta, which is POC-recognized as an NSA while Jean Henri Lhuillier is on top of Unified Tennis Philippines whose blueprint for a nation-wide development program is exceptional.
There is another player in the landscape called the Philippine Tennis Academy which Lhuillier used to back. Imagine the power of consolidation if only every tennis organization comes together under a common umbrella. The effort to promote the sport must be coordinated and not disjointed. Meanwhile, the Philippines will play Indonesia in the first round of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group II on Feb. 3-4.
How long before an international foray will PBA teams cede players for Gilas? Under the MOA between the SBP and PBA, cadets will be seconded to Gilas 60 days before a sanctioned competition (like the FIBA Asia Cup and Asian Games) and veterans, 15. Since cadets are now two-year pros, will they still be ceded 60 days before or will it be down to 15? The MOA has to be revisited and adjusted to align with the schedule of games in the FIBA calendar.
The next Gilas game will be against Australia in Melbourne on Feb. 22 and at the moment, there is no clarity on a practice timetable. After Australia, the Philippines will host Japan on Feb. 25 to end the second home-and-away window in the first qualifying round for the 2019 FIBA World Cup. If and when the Philippines advances to the second round, Gilas will play in three more home-and-away windows on Sept. 17-25, Nov. 26-Dec. 4 and Feb. 18-26 next year.
There has to be a coordinated effort in staging the Philippine National Games, Batang Pinoy and Palarong Pambansa. The PSC is in the best position to rationalize each event. While the Department of Education plays a key role in promoting sports consciousness through physical education classes, it really has no business organizing the Palarong Pambansa regardless of how long the agency has staged the yearly conclave. Scouts look for potential elite athletes in Batang Pinoy and the Palaro but talent identification starts way before at the grassroots level.
The system of talent identification, sifting of warm bodies and recruitment for elite development is the heart and soul of the PSC. It’s a shared responsibility with the NSAs but the PSC is the lead agency in charge as the funder. The process involves close coordination and monitoring. For it to work, rationalization is imperative in setting a common direction for the PNG, Batang Pinoy and the Palaro.
At least 20 athletes from selected sports where the Philippines has a competitive chance to earn an Olympic gold medal will be given special attention in training for global honors by the PSC through the Philippine Sports Institute and the Siklab Atleta Pilipinas Foundation under presidential adviser on sports Dennis Uy. Siklab will be officially launched early this year once the athletes are identified.
This effort is a long time coming. The goal is to deliver the country’s first Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games. A budget of P1 Billion is the target for a fouryear Olympic cycle. Among the priority sports are shooting, archery, weightlifting, windsurfing, gymnastics, judo, cycling and athletics. Sports that are well-funded like boxing will be excluded. The focus will be on individual, not team, events.
That’s our wish list for 2018. Happy New Year to one and all!