OUT OF the 472 Filipino athletes who participated in the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Singapore last June, 16 delegates from the Blue and White were chosen to represent the Philippines in their respective sports.
The multi-sport competition was an opportunity for our Katipunan-based athletes to not only bring glory to the school, but also to instill national pride by achieving their personal bests and garnering medals for the Philippines.
Bringing home the glory
The 28th SEA Games welcomed its participants during its opening ceremony last June 5 in the Singapore National Stadium. Chosen to be the Philippines’ flag bearer was the Ateneo’s own Lady Spiker Alyssa Valdez. The veteran player believes that carrying this great responsibility for the country was the highlight of her experience in the SEA Games.
“Kung nachoose ka na flag bearer, what do you feel (If you were chosen to be the flag bearer, what do you feel)?” jokes Valdez. “Sobrang speechless, sobrang overwhelmed and sobrang blessed (Really speechless, really overwhelmed, and really blessed).”
Making waves in the swimming division were Ateneo Tankers Jessie Lacuna, Axel Ngui, and Hannah Dato. To train for the SEA Games, they were sent to join a program in Australia for two months. The program helped these swimmers clock in their personal records.
Senior swimmer and Olympian Lacuna successfully brought home two bronze medals from his men’s 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley events, and one silver medal from his 400m freestyle event.
“Sobrang unexpected yung mga winning time na ‘yon (Those winning times were really unexpected),” says Lacuna. “Though, for me, ang target lang namin [was] to get best times. It was a bonus to win a medal (Though, for me, our target for this SEA Games was to get best times. It was a bonus to win a medal).”
Aside from Lacuna, Lady Tanker Dato was also able to bring home a bronze medal from the women’s 4 x 100 Individual Medley Relay with other national team players.
In the taekwondo division, both Irene Therese Bermejo and Francis Aaron Agojo were able to garner silver medals in the under 46 kg and under 54 kg events of the SEA Games, respectively.
“We only had two weeks to train that time. I think the coach decided to make it three times a day and it was not the usual ones, they were the intensive ones,” says Bermejo. “But it really changed our performance.”
Basketball star Kiefer Ravena was the sole delegate from the Ateneo Blue Eagles who qualified to join the national team in Singapore. The SEA Games veteran player was fully prepared to dominate the game as the team was determined to defend the Philippines’ crown in men’s basketball.
“We went there for that lone reason: To win the gold medal,” shares Ravena.
Another sole delegate was Danica Jose of the Ateneo Lady Eagles. As part of the national team, Jose played a key role in helping the team land a podium finish. However, the team fell short by one game and consequently landed fourth in the overall ranking.
For the first time in 10 years, the Philippine national volleyball teams were sent to compete in the SEA Games this year. Marck Espejo, Ysay Marasigan, Rex Intal, Ish Polvorosa, and Josh Villanueva–all constant University Athletic Association of the Philippines starting six players–dominated the national team line-up. For the women’s team, key players Valdez, Bea de Leon, Julia Morado, and former Lady Spiker Denise Lazaro all qualified for a spot.
Although both teams did not secure a podium finish, they still managed to land 6th and 5th place in the overall rankings, respectively.
Challenges of the game
Being one of the major competitions Southeast Asia looks forward to every two years, these athletes definitely came prepared with the hard work they endured to meet their desired results. Despite the pressures that came with this journey, the participants eventually overcame these challenges during the competition itself.
Although the basketball team had won the gold in this year’s SEA Games, Ravena explains that the manner of their victory did not meet their expectations when they entered the competition. The team almost fell short in a game against Thailand, where the national team won by a margin of just five points against the opposing team. Their finals opponent, Indonesia, also proved to be tough to beat during the defense of their championship title.
“We expected to dominate as usual, but as teams evolve and as teams get to know the Philippines’ pace, they also adjust,” shares Ravena. “I have played against them for 4 years, so they have been preparing for us. It was bound to happen that other countries will raise the competition in Southeast Asia.”
Aside from being inexperienced in the international setting, the volleyball teams encountered conflicting schedules in their preparations for the SEA Games, as it coincided with the Spikers’ Turf competition. This gave the players only a limited time to train together as a whole team for the SEA Games.
“Right after Spikers’ Turf, umalis na kami for SEA Games and actually, noong pumunta kami ng Singapore, [iyon ang] first time na nag-training kami nang buo (Right after Spikers’ Turf, we immediately left for the SEA Games and actually, it was in Singapore where we all trained as a whole for the first time),” explains Blue Spiker Intal. “Nag-rely lang kami sa core ng Ateneo and hindi rin nakuha ni coach ang ideal line- up niya (We relied on the core of Ateneo and coach wasn’t able to get his ideal line-up, as well).”
The 28th SEA Games served as an avenue to showcase the talents of the Blue and White in an international setting. Despite there being more challenges and pressures for the players to handle in representing the Philippines, Oliver Almadro, the head coach of both the Blue Spikers and the national team, believes in the potential of every delegate. “It is like a soldier going to battle in the field of sports,” says Almadro. “One must love his country first in order to play their hearts out.”