PH athletics team determined to end Asiad medal drought | ABS-CBN

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PH athletics team determined to end Asiad medal drought

PH athletics team determined to end Asiad medal drought

ABS-CBN News

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Pole vaulter EJ Obiena competes in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Camboadia on May 8, 2023 on the way to winning a gold. POC/PSC Media
Pole vaulter EJ Obiena competes in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Camboadia on May 8, 2023 on the way to winning a gold. POC/PSC Media

MANILA -- Coaches of the Philippine athletics team believe they are on track to end a three-decade medal drought in the Asian Games this year in Hangzhou, China.

National coaches Isidro Del Prado and Dario De Rosas have pinned their hopes on pole vaulter EJ Obiena to make it to the podium -- and likely win the gold -- in the 2023 Asian Games.

If he lives up to expectations, Obiena will be the first Filipino trackster to win a medal in the Asiad since Elma Muros brought home the bronze in the women's long jump in the 1994 edition of the quadrennial meet in Hiroshima, Japan.

"Ang panalo natin si EJ sa pole vault," del Prado said in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum Tuesday at the conference hall of the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

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It's a sentiment that the national team coaches share with Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino, who has previously said that Obiena will almost certainly win gold in the men's pole vault.

The Tokyo Olympian is also hoping to complete some unfinished business in the Asiad, having failed to medal in Jakarta, Indonesia. He placed seventh in 2018, with Japan's Seito Yamamoto winning the gold. Obiena at the time was a year removed from a knee injury that prevented him from competing in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.

As for the rest of the 13-man athletics team, both coaches are setting modest goals.

"Ready kami ngayon sa Asiad. Hopefully, maka-sungkit ng medalya," said De Rosas of his protégé in long jumper Janry Ubas.

Ubas, 29, won the gold medal in long jump during the last Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, and copped the bronze in heptathlon in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championship in Kazakshtan early this year. He also competed in two European tournaments in Italy and Finland in which he also went home with the gold.

Ubas is also the national record holder in long jump with 8.08 meters, which De Rosas believes would at least give the Misamis Oriental bet a shot for the bronze should he equal or surpass his personal mark.

"Hopefully, kung makukuha niya ulit yan, puwede tayong mag-bronze medal siguro," said De Rosas, who also coaches Sarah Dequinan (heptathlon) and Ronnie Malipay (triple jump).

As for Del Prado, the former anchor of the famed ‘Bicol Express’ 4x400 men’s relay team in the 80s, it’s going to be a tough task for the quartet of Fil-Am Umajesty Williams, Frederick Ramirez, Joyme Squita, and Michael Carlo Del Prado to achieve a podium finish.

"Malakas ang India, Japan, China, and Sri Lanka sa 4x4. Kaya nauna kong sinabi sa kanila na to give their best to break the Philippine record (3:06.47)," he said.

The same quartet won the gold in the Cambodia SEA Games, but the Asiad is an entirely different tournament.

"Hopefully, makapasok tayo sa finals," said Del Prado, adding the semis is slated on Oct. 3 and the finals the following day.

The rest of the track and field contingent are composed of Asian Athletics Championship gold winner Robyn Brown (400 m hurdles), John Tolentino (110 m hurdles), Eric Cray (400 m hurdles), Kristina Knott (100 m and 200 m), and William Morrison (shot put).

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Marcos orders creation of task force for PH hosting of FIVB Worlds

Marcos orders creation of task force for PH hosting of FIVB Worlds

Kennedy Caacbay,

ABS-CBN News

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Updated Feb 13, 2025 08:27 PM PHT

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MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has ordered the creation of an inter-agency task force that would coordinate for the country's hosting of the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship.

The Administrative Order 30, which was released on Tuesday and was signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin for Marcos, directs several government agencies chaired by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to help prepare and organize the 32-nation championship event hosted through the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) set for September 12 to 28.

The PSC will be the task force secretariat, and 17 different government bodies — Departments of Tourism, Budget and Management, Education, Trade and Industry, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Health, Information and Communication Technology, Interior and Local Government, Public Works and Highways and Transportation, as well as the Commission on Higher Education, Metro Manila Development Authority, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Bureaus of Immigration and Customs and the Presidential Communications Office — would complete the task force.

The funding for the order's implementation “shall be charged against the existing appropriations of the respective agencies, subject to applicable laws, rules and regulations,” according to the AO.

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Meanwhile, the PNVF lauded Malacañang's directive through its chief, PNVF president Ramon Suzara. Presidential son Vinny Marcos is also the co-chair of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of this prestigious event.

Alas Pilipinas Men, participating in the world championship by virtue of hosting, are grouped in Pool A together with Iran, Egypt and Tunisia.

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