Reli De Leon, Edward Kho, Jojo Posadas grace the PSA Forum.
Foreign athletes to compete in National Open
AS many as 800 participants, including 80 elite foreign athletes from five Southeast Asian Games countries, are expected to see action in the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships, which get underway in Ilagan, Isabela on March 21-26.
An annual undertaking of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA), headed by businessman-
sportsman Terry Capistrano, the week-long competition will stake a total of 165 medals in 80 events in the Open Elite, Under-20 and Under 18 divisions.
“We’re leaving no stone left unturned to ensure the success of the event. Magandang laban ito and this could be a preview of what’s in store in the SEA Games,” said PATAFA secretary-general Edward Kho during the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
“After this event, we will know where we are towards the SEA Games,” said Reli de Leon, special assistant to PATAFA president Capistrano, in the same weekly forum presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, MILO, Philippine Olympic Committee, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
De Leon said the country’s top bets, including 15 Fil-foreigners who will also vie in the SEA Games, will be competing in the competition.
The event, formerly known as the PATAFA National Open, will be the last major regional competition before the 32nd SEA Games scheduled May 5-21 in Cambodia.
Five SEA Games countries — Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei — will field entries as part of their preparations for the Cambodia SEA Games, according to De Leon.
“This makes the event a good preview” of the biennial event in Cambodia.”
Kho and national coach Jojo Posadas said counting all athletes from the different provinces and LGUs, they expect as many as 800 participants to converge in Isabela.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richard Bachmann and local executives of host Isabela are expected to grace the colorful opening ceremony.
PSA Lifetime Achievement award recipient and long jump queen Elma Muros-Posadas will carry the torch during the opening ceremony.
