Young Equestrian Team for SEA Games
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 06 Oct 2013
A short-handed three-athlete young team that is rich in international exposure will be Philippine equestrian?s bets for medals in the coming 27th Southeast Asian Games this December in Myanmar.
?We would have wanted to send four athletes to complete a lineup in team competition, but we were limited to a maximum of only three by both the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission,? Equestrian Association of the Philippines corporate secretary Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski said during Friday?s SCOOP session at the Kamayan Restaurant-Padre Faura.
?In team competition kasi, each country should field a four-man side with the only the three best scorers to count,? Ms. Cojuangco-Jaworski explained. ?In this situation, we are forced to field only three athletes in team play and hope that all turn up high scores para ma count lahat.?
?But it?s okay naman to us. Our thrust, anyway, is to form a team that will be vying for honors in a bigger stage like the Asian Games, that?s why we in the EAP opted for a young, but talent-rich representation in the SEA Games,? the newly-elected International Olympic Committee representative to the Philippines added.
?The focus is to add more equestriennes in the elite group under the PSC and which better way we could better start than expose our athletes in as many minor international competitions who could then then graduate to the Asian and world levels,? the beauteous 2002 Asian Games gold medalist in show jumping event reasoned out.
?The Asian Games set next year is fast approaching and we want sana to send a strong competitors there composed of our elite athletes in addition to, I think five, who are in the present PSC list,? she added.
The team composition -- Diego Virata, Andrea Belovsky and Camella Lastrella ? according to Conuangco-Jaworski, are products of EAP?s youth development program.
Of the three, Virata, son of former internationalist Stephen is the oldest and, therefore, more experienced. Lastrella is only 18 and Belovsky, 16.
The be-medaled equestrienne cum movie and television personality and daughter of POC president Jose ?Paping? and Margarita ?Tingting? Copjuangco said the team has been in extensive build up program since it was formed last March.
?It?s a relatively young team at marami pang chance ang naghihintay sa kanila in the future,? Cojuangco-Jaworski said. ?It?s quite strong, too, if we speak of their prospective potential.?
?It?s not easy to make prediction as to how many and what kind of medals this team is capable of bringing home.? She said when asked. ?What I can only say is that members of the team know what they were chosen for.?
?They went through a rigid no-nonsense type of training regimen before they make it to the lineup and they know it. They know too, what people expect of them. And we naman sa EAP, have to have faith in them. We?re hoping for the best and they, in return, are hoping to do their best, for flag and country.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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