Cage crown is ‘worth a thousand golds’
HANGZHOU – In the eyes of POC president Abraham Tolentino, the victory in men’s basketball “is worth a thousand golds.”
Abraham Tolentino latest news
EJ in the news
HANGZHOU – Men’s pole vault champion EJ Obiena of the Philippines made news by setting a new Asian Games record of 5.90 meters last Saturday. For that, he landed in the inside pages of the Asiad Daily, an eight-page, English-written tabloid that tells about the exploits of the thousands of athletes competing here. Obiena, 27, was in the news Monday. “Philippines pole vaulter raises the bar,” said the story head, referring to world No. 2 and Italy-trained pole vaulter who delivered his country’s first athletics gold in the Asian Games since 1986, the year of the popular EDSA Revolution. That’s how long his country waited for another gold after the late Lydia de Vega ruled the century dash in Seoul. “I’m excited to take this medal, put it on a shelf,” Obiena was quoted as saying. “To me this is the biggest job. Our country needed it. And it’s my job to bring it,” he told Pinoy mediamen here. Obiena is back home to celebrate the victory with his countrymen and his family – and left his fine footprints here.
Cool bronze feat from rider Coo
HANGZHOU — With less fanfare, Patrick Coo secured a bronze medal in men’s BMX racing Sunday, and kept Team Philippines moving forward with only seven days of competition left at the 19th Asian Games .
Asiad notes
HANGZHOU – The opening ceremony Saturday evening went according to plan except for a notable absence in the Philippine delegation. The chef-de-mission, fencing and modern pentathlon president Richard Gomez, was nowhere in sight. The STAR asked around regarding the whereabouts of the famous actor, multi-sport athlete and now congressman for Leyte’s Fourth District. “May budget hearing,” said POC chief Abraham Tolentino. “Hindi ko alam,” said one NSA president, who joined the parade. “Busy daw. And when he tried to book his plane ticket from Manila, wala na makuha,” said another sports official. An observer said the reason for his absence is none of the above. It’s the first time in any major international competition such as this that a Filipino chef-de-mission had gone missing in action. The Games will run until Oct. 8 so there’s enough time for Gomez to catch up. Better late than sorry. Gilas bubble
Team Philippines strikes in taekwondo
HANGZHOU — Patrick King Perez was Sunday’s best for Team Philippines in the 19th Asian Games here.