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| As the Philippine team broke even anew in the Asian Games in terms of golds, POC chief Bambol Tolentino really thought there was a great chance of going for eight championships. POC Media Pool (file photo) |
MANILA—As the group of national team athletes and officials that attended the Asian Games closing ceremonies returned home on Monday, Philippine Olympic Committee president Bambol Tolentino shed some light on the bold eight-gold forecast he and Philippine Sports Commission chairman Pato Gregorio made before the official start of the quadrennial meet.
As Tolentino hosted a congratulatory dinner for the medalists at Century Park Hotel, hours after they landed at NAIA Terminal 1 in Pasay, the concurrent Tagaytay mayor reiterated that the goal was achievable.
"Hindi ko pwedeng ikahiya na kaya talaga yung eight," Tolentino said during a press conference at the middle part of the homecoming dinner.
For the third straight edition, the Filipinos settled for four golds, two from gymnast Carlos Yulo, one from pole vaulter EJ Obiena, and the inaugural Asian Games virtual taekwondo title of Jeus Yape.
The Philippine team ended up with the most Asian Games medals since 1966 and the best gold-silver-bronze distribution since 1962.
However, the fact that they only ended up with half of the golden goal became the talk of the town during the games' final weekend.
In spite of this, Tolentino said that the fans should take a look at the nine silvers and 16 bronzes the team also got, as he thought some of them could have been golds if not for the breaks in the games
"Doon lang tayo pipitas sa silver at pitas ng isa sa bronze... Pitas lang para maging eight," Tolentino further said.
He then cited boxing runner-up Carlo Paalam, whose camp alleged that Uzbek referee Maruf Urdushev engaged in spotty officiating in both his medal-round bouts.
After officiating Paalam's semifinal win against Makhmud Sabyrkhan, Urdushev, who was already accused of questionable calls in that bout, was tasked with moderating Paalam's championship bout against Rui Yamaguchi, which did not sit well with Paalam's camp.
Yamaguchi eventually saved the day for host nation Japan as he struck the home team's lone boxing gold at the expense of Paalam, whose team felt was once again at the wrong end of alleged bum calls from Urdushev.
"Nakita niyo naman, di ba? Kayo na humusga doon," Tolentino said.
He also talked about Alex Enriquez and Tachiana Mangin's gold medal bout losses in jiu-jitsu and taekwondo.
Both Enriquez and Mangin ended their fights in 0-0 draws, but Enriquez and Mangin eventually yielded to Orapa Senatham and Ma Jingyue, respectively, after their referees made their final calls.
Tolentino also thought Jean Claude Saclag could have won gold too in mixed martial arts if he had not been too aggressive in the final against Otabek Rajabov.
"Matagal ko nang sinasabi na meron kaming nakatago sa MMA... Nanggigil lang yung bata natin," Tolentino further said.
He then finally discussed bronze medalist Victoria Bossong, who entered the 800-meter run final as the top seed after clocking the fastest in the heat phase before settling for third in the medal race.
Tolentino then explained that he and Gregorio thought about setting the gold forecast since they were confident that there would be more than eight sources for gold.
"Matagal na naming alam ni Chairman na may paghuhugutan talaga noong eight. It's more than eight," Tolentino further said.
Two other prominent gold medal favorites for the Philippine team were reigning Mubadala DC Open champion Alex Eala and defending MPL Philippines champion Team Liquid, taking the Sibol mantle.
However, Eala settled for her second straight Asian Games women's singles bronze after letting eventual champion Wang Xiyu complete a reverse sweep in the semifinals.
Sibol, on the other hand, ended in a shock fifth-place finish by consensus in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament.
Despite going break-even in golds again, Tolentino believes it is still a successful run for the Filipinos in Nagoya.
"Still, we are very, very happy sa result," Tolentino said, reiterating that this is their best performance in the modern era.
Some of the athletes will return for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in December, while all eyes will be on next year's Southeast Asian Games.
