MANILA, 31 October 2003 — Whoever gets to call the shots for the national basketball team in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games in December will have to do battle with a Filipino coach now at the helm of the Indonesian basketball squad.
Gerardo “Bong” Ramos, a member of the coaching staff of the Philippine Team that retained the title in the 2001 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, was recently named coach of the Indon team preparing for the Vietnam Games.
He got the nod of Indon basketball officials after steering the Aspac-Texmaco squad to its fourth straight title in Indonesia’s premier cage league, the Indonesian Basketball League (formerly Kobatama). As a result, Ramos emerged as the hands-down choice for coach of the year. En route to the title, Ramos and his wards posted a two-game sweep over the Bhineka squad which is coached by David Chang, a Chinese national.
Ramos was an assistant coach to Allan Caidic at Ginebra last year when he received a juicy offer to coach Indonesia’s most prestigious squad.
Before the IBL championship, Ramos also steered his team to the Sisters City Cup in Medan, Indonesia, where they beat the Nat Canson-mentored Satria Muda.
Pacquiao Determined to Become Famous
World Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao came face to face with the man likely to define his place in Philippine boxing history.
“This is my chance to become really famous,” said Pacquiao after sizing up the fearsome Marco Antonio Barrera, the Mexican hitman who, though not owning a world title, is considered king of the featherweights.
The two square off on Nov. 15 fight and no less than future Hall of Famer Oscar de La Hoya was in the middle, being the promoter of the fight at the famed Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
For Pacquiao, Barrera is a stepping stone toward international stardom, something that has eluded a string of Filipino boxing champions who after, a brief stop on top of the boxing firmament, fall to the ground with a whimper. For Barrera, the fight is an opportunity to earn a quick dollar. He’s guaranteed $1 million plus share of TV and gate receipts while Pacquiao will get $350,000, the biggest prize ever for a Filipino sportsman. Still, Barrera gave Pacquiao a lot of respect.
Youth and Experience for SEAG Boxing Team
Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (BAP) president Manny Lopez has come up with the list of the nine boxers who will carry the load of preventing a second straight Southeast Asian Games setback.
Shamed in Kuala Lumpur in 2001, boxing is raring to be sent to battle with the selection of Juanito Magliquian (45 kilograms), Harry Ta?amor (48 kg), Violito Payla (51 kg), Joan Tipon (54 kg), Roel Laguna (57 kg), Anthony Igusguiza (60 kg), Mark Jason Melligen (64 kg), Francis Joven (69 kg) and Filipino-American Chris Camat (75 kg).
Some of these selected are coming off rousing stints in tournaments held in China, India and Pakistan.
Action in boxing starts on Dec. 3, two days before the 22nd SEAG opens shop in Hanoi. Thailand is still seen as the team to beat in the SEAG although the Vietnamese, and even the Malaysians, are not to be taken for granted.
Baylon Out to Sustain SEAG Streak
Judoka John Baylon is optimistic of capturing his sixth consecutive gold medal in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games this December.
Baylon, a veteran of four Asian Games, will try to defend the 81 kg title he won two years ago in Malaysia. He also won gold in the 78 kg division in 1991, 1993 and 1995 and at 71 kg in 1997. The only time he failed to land a gold medal in the biennial event was in 1999, but only because judo was not calendared in the Brunei Games.
The 36-year-old native of Zamboanga City is currently training at the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo, Japan and will be coming home next week to spearhead the national team going to the Asian Judo Championships in Jeju Island, South Korea. The Asian Championships should serve as a gauge not only Baylon’s performance but also that of other SEAG-bound judokas.
More Than Just Co-Hosting the SEAG
The capacity to organize its own opening ceremony and provide accommodation to athletes and officials will be the major requirements for the six cities and two provinces bidding to co-stage the 2005 Southeast Asian Games with Manila.
Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (Philsoc) chairman Celso Dayrit said he would ask the prospective co-hosts to reevaluate their bids after the guidelines are finalized in November. The bidders are Tubod town in Lanao del Norte province; Pampanga province; and the cities of Bacolod, Cebu, Gen. Santos, Naga, Baguio and Puerto Princesa.
Dayrit said the satellite venues don’t have to be in the Visayas and Mindanao as long as they can comply with requirements the Philsoc will set.
The Philsoc is trying to follow the example of Vietnam which will host the SEAG this December in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Haishung. The three SEAG venues will hold separate but simultaneous opening ceremonies on top of providing accommodation for athletes and officials.
FIDE Sets Ban on RP Chessers
The Philippines stands to lose even the chance to compete in important international tournaments, starting with the 2003 World Youth Chess Championships and possibly in the Southeast Asian Games and the World Champions as dues with the World Chess Federation remain unpaid up to now.
The National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) still owes the FIDE 11,000 swiss francs, half of which should have been paid last July. As a result, the country was excluded from the ratings list for October released by the world chess body.
Although the SEA Games and the World Championships are still months away, in peril is the country’s participation in the 2003 World Youth Chess Championships (under10, under-12,under 14), World Youth under-16 and under-18 set in Haikidiki, Greece set Oct. 22 to Nov. 3.
The 10 young chessers, to be coached by GM Eugene Torre, are still in need of 500,000 pesos to fully cover for the expenses along with that of the training team.
