Thailand will be the over-all champion in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

A powerhouse in the region and even in the Asiad(always at the top 10), Thailand will be the over-all champion in this year's SEA Games. But not without a good competition from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and even the hos nation Myanmar. Having said that, these five nations will be the front runners in this year's SEA Games but eventually Thailand will bag its 6th over-all championship. Congratulations in advance and good luck Team Thailand. Mabuhay from Philippines.

Mendoza: Time to quit the Mickey Mouse Games

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

THE time will come when games like tumbang preso, patintero, luksong tinik or 

even jolens will be included in the SEA Games, the biennial event hosted 

alternately by countries in South East Asia.

Only in our country are those games found.

No worries.

In the SEA Games, anything is possible.

In the SEA Games, there are no limits.

As the Beatles sang it, “It won’t be long.”

It won’t be long, indeed, when the games I mentioned above are played

in the SEA Games.

No one will question.

As a SEA Games rule, the host can stage any game it wants to.

That is why Myanmar, the host of the SEA Games in Dec. 11-22, is having a field 

day choosing the events to be contested.

And, of course, they aren’t foolish as not to choose the games where they 

have the strongest chances of winning the gold.

No one’s grumbling. Not one nation has ever raised hell.

It would amount to nothing, anyway. An exercise in futility.

As I said, in the SEA Games, the host rules—and you can’t complain.

How many times have I covered the SEA Games?

Aha, about eight times already, including Manila 1981 for the Bulletin, 

and Manila 1991, Kuala Lumpur 1993, Changmai 1995, Jakarta 1997, 

Bangkok 1999, Brunei 2001, and Manila 2005—all for the Inquirer.

And all this time, I had not seen one country cry, “Hey, stop the Games! 

That game being played out there is not even played in Jupiter or Mars! 

We are making a mockery

of sportsmanship!”

What sportsmanship?

In the SEA Games, sportsmanship has not been, will never be, killed because 

there is no such sanamagun to be killed in the first place.

What does not exist can never be killed.

Presently, there are stirrings emanating, quite surprisingly, from our backyard.

“The SEA Games isn’t big deal anymore that is why we are sending athletes

 abroad to train for sports played in the Olympics,” said Buddy Andrada, 

a commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission.

Olympic events are no big deal in the SEA Games?

Yes. That is why it’s time to quit this Mickey Mouse mimic.

In the SEA Games, the Russian roulette, if not jolens or dama, would soon be a 

regular fare.

No kidding.

source:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/sports/2013/03/26/mendoza-time-quit-mickey-mouse-games-274778

There must be something wrong with the 

SEA Games rules, it is now time to review it 

because the current rules are not helping the 

region in sporting events like

Asiad and Olympics. Even if Myanmar will become 

over-all champion this year, will it help them bag their

first medal in the Olympics? I don't think so. 

Please revise now the rules to help all the countries 

in south east asia region do well in the Olympics.

Vietnam will be 2nd place in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

That's my prediction. Vietnam, as a rising powerhouse nation in the region, will be 2nd in this year's Myanmar SEA Games. With Kempo as one of the sports in this year's SEA Games, Vietnam has an advantage. With this, it could "steal" the over-all championship from Thailand. But having known Thailand for quite some time, I believe the Vietnamese will find it very hard to bag the over-all championship. Having said that, good luck to team Vietnam!

Indonesia will be 3rd place in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

Having hosted the 2011 SEA Games, Indonesia has a slight advantage because it still has many athletes from the last edition which helped bag the over-all championship. Being a powerhouse in Badminton, Indonesia will be very at the 3rd spot in the medal

standings in this year's Myanmar SEA Games. Good luck team Indonesia. 

Myanmar will be 4th place in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

Yes, you read it right. Myanmar, as the host in this year's SEA Games, will be 4th in the medal tally. With the inclusion of chinlone, with 60 disciplines (that's too many), the country

could even beat Thailand for the over-all championship. But then again, Thailand will not lose its focus and eventually will cop its 6th over-all championship this year. Having said that, we hope that Myanmar will be a good host in this year's SEA Games. Good luck!

Malaysia will be 5th place in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

Malaysia, as one of the traditional powerhouse nation in SEA Games, will be 5th at this year's Myanmar SEA Games. Being so strong in sports like badminton, swimming, and athletics, it has a strong chance in being at the top 3 spot. But again because of 

some "crazy" ideas of the hosting nation to include its traditional sports, it will be hard for the Malaysian contingent to be at the top 3 spot. But with some surprises, who knows Malaysia may even be at the top 2. But again, my prediction is that this country will be good for top 5 in in year's Myanmar SEA Games. Good luck Team Malaysia.

Philippines will be 6th place in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

Philippines being a traditional powerhouse in Taekwondo, Chess, Billiards, and athletics it will be sixth in this year's Myanmar SEA Games 2013. Because of the inclusion of some sports that are totally strange to the Filipino athletes, it will be hard for the Philippines to land at the top 5 in the medal tally. But we promise to give a good fight for our other SEA nations counterparts. Mabuhay Pilipinas. 

Singapore will be 7th place in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

Being the powerhouse in swimming and table tennis Singapore will be a very strong contingent in Myanmar SEA Games 2013. I won't be surprised if they will be at the top 5 in the over-all medal

tally, but my prediction is that they will be 7th over-all in 2013 SEA Games. Good luck Team Singapore!

Laos will be 8th place in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

The Laotian contingent in Myanmar SEA Games 2013 will be 8th over-all. With some of the sports being familiar with Laos, it could even surpass Singapore or Philippines in the over-all medal standings. But I still believe that Laos will not "defeat" these two countries because they are powerhouses in some of the sports. Having said that, good luck team Laos!

Cambodia will be 9th place in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

There is no question that the 9th place over-all will go to Cambodia in Myanmar SEA Games 2013. Having visited Cambodia last December 2012, I saw how they are preparing for their hosting of SEA Games in 2019. Their stadium is under construction

and it will be finished in 2014. Good luck Team Cambodia!

Brunei will be 10th place in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

Though Brunei did not win any gold medal in the Jakarta SEA Games, I believe that it will still be at the 10th spot in Myanmar SEA Games 2013. Looking at its performance in Jakarta, the country won 4 silver medals. Granting that Brunei and East Timor will not win a gold medal, Brunei will be at the advantage since the silver medals they won came from many sports not like East timor's lone silver medal which came from Kempo. Having said that, I wish the Brunei athletes the best of luck from the Philippines.

Timor Leste will be 11th place in Myanmar SEA Games 2013

Having first participated in 2003 Vietnam SEA Games, Timor Leste(East Timor) won its first gold medal in Kempo in the 2011 Jakarta SEA Games. Having won its first ever gold medal,

the country defeated Brunei in the medal standings. But in this year's SEA Games, it will be rank 11 since Kempo is not part of Myanmar SEA Games. Having said that, I still hope for

the best for East Timor's athletes. Good luck from the Philippines. 

Prediction on Myanmar SEA Games 2013

Because of the inclusion of some sports that are strange to many south east asian countries, the over-all championship in this year's SEA Games will be a battle between Thailand and Vietnam. But I'm placing my bet on Thailand. I believe they will still be this year's SEA Games over-all champion. Myanmar will be at the top 5 for the first time since 1979 where they landed 3rd over-all. My fearless forecast on the result of Myanmar SEA Games 2013 will be

1. Thailand

2. Vietnam

3. Indonesia

4. Myanmar

5. Malaysia

6. Philippines

7. Singapore

8. Laos

9. Cambodia

10. Brunei

11. East Timor.

Philippines to compete in Myanmar SEA Games despite dissatisfaction

MANILA: The Philippines said on Monday they would send their best athletes to the upcoming SEA Games in Myanmar despite alleged cherry-picking of sports to give the host country the most medals.

The head of the Philippine mission Jeff Tamayo said he was prepared for a poor medal showing at the 27th SEA Games in December but the country was not being deterred.

“We are sending the best of the best. This is all about the challenge to the individual. It is not about winning our place in the SEA Games,” he told AFP.

While some sports officials originally suggested just sending a token delegation – or even boycotting the Myanmar Games entirely – Tamayo said they chose not to look at the medals as the main reason for competing.

Many Southeast Asian countries have been irked by signs that events were being chosen to help Myanmar athletes win in the games.

Tamayo cited the inclusion of “chinlone”, a native Myanmar ball game unknown in many other countries as well as events like chess and bodybuilding, all areas where the hosts are perceived as having an edge.

He said Filipinos could not even participate in some of these additional sports as they are not played in their country.

In contrast, sports like tennis and gymnastics were dropped, possibly because the hosts do not do well in those areas, Tamayo said.

The Philippines are likely to send athletes to only 27 of the 33 events and a shortage of funds will probably cut the number even further, he said.

Despite this, he expects the country to secure victories in boxing, taekwondo and basketball.

Even if the Philippines fail to do well in the total tally of medals, they could still excel in “the ratio of athletes to medals”, he said.

The 2013 SEA Games will be the first major international event to be held in Myanmar since the end of junta rule in 2011. — AFP

source: http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2013/3/13/sports/12828730&sec=sports

The decision of Myanmar to include its traditional sports in this year's SEA Games is 

so frustrating especially to us Filipinos. Sports like chinlone(Myanmar) and

vovinam(Vietnam) are in themselves unique, so unique that many countries don't 

even know how to play these games.I will not be surprised if the over-all champion 

in this year's SEA Games is Vietnam, and followed by Myanmar.

But still, we Filipinos are crossing our fingers that our players will be at their peak 

come December so that many countries will have a hard time beating our athletes.

 Good luck team Philippines!

SEA Games medal prospect injured

Archand Christian Bagsit, whom Philippine track and field officials are hoping for two gold medals in the 2013 Southeast Asian Games, injured his left hamstring in Wednesday’s

National Collegiate Athletic Association track and field championship at PSC oval in Pasig.

Letran coach Ben Humangit told Manila Standard Today in a phone interview that Bagsit hurt his hamstring in his first try at the long jump, where he did 6.52 meters. He just lost the 100 meters in a dead heat with Daniel Noval of College of St Benilde.

“It doesn’t look good, but I am waiting for the doctor’s findings. It will certainly setback his training for the SEA Games,” said Humangit.

Humangit said Bagsit had to be helped off the jumps area.

Bagsit, who placed second in the 400-meter dash and was part of the silver-medal winning 4×400 quartet in his first outing in the 2011 SEA Games, was being eyed to win two golds in these same events.

He was coming off a personal best performance of 47.44 seconds in the 400 meters last year in Thailand. Humangit said Bagsit came down from Baguio, where a part of the national team is quartered, a week ago.

source: http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/03/01/sea-games-medal-prospect-injured/

It's still 8 months before the Myanmar SEA Games and Bagsit has still time 

to heal his injury. Let's pray that the injury will be healed as soonest as 

possible. Good luck to our Filipino athletes.

SEA Games Gold Medal Tally(as of March 2013)

SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES

COUNTRY	GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE	TOTAL
Indonesia	1602	1413	1395	4410
Thailand	1513	1318	1315	4146
Philippines	836	971	1191	2998
Malaysia	805	772	1067	2644
Vietnam	586	540	618	1744
Singapore	508	559	841	1906
Myanmar	249	410	579	1238
Laos	53	60	170	283
Cambodia	11	26	104	151
Brunei	10	38	120	168
Timor-Leste	1	1	12	14

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asian_Games#Gold_medal_tally

Philippines is still at no.3 spot. But I doubt if we can still hold that rank after this year's SEA GAMES because of some "crazy" sports included in Myanmar Games that are totally strange to Filipinos.

(Basketball) Gilas To Reinforce SEAG-Bound PHL Men’s Cage Team

Source: gmanews.tv

Smart Gilas players are expected to reinforce the Sinag Pilipinas men’s basketball team for the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia.

Glenn Capacio, an assistant coach of the Sinag Pilipinas team mentored by multi-titled coach Norman Black, said that Japeth Aguilar, Greg Slaughter and Aldrech Ramos were among the 16 players who attended the by-invitation-only tryouts for the SEA Games team last January 29.

Chris Tiu, who was included in the team during the 2007 SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand but was dropped at the last minute, has also expressed interest in joining the team.

“I think it’s just a formality for them to be included in the team,” said Capacio. “We know what Japeth, Greg and the other guys can bring to the team so I expect them to be shoo-ins.”

Among those who attended the tryouts were UAAP Most Valuable Player (MVP) RR Garcia of Far Eastern University, Ateneo’s Eric Salamat, San Sebastian College‘s Calvin Abueva and Ian Sangalang.

Article Source: http://saminovic2.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/basketball-gilas-to-reinforce-seag-bound-phl-mens-cage-team/

This preparation of the Philippine Team is a signal that the level of basketball in the SEA region is already high. During the last editions of the SEAG, the country only tap the collegiate players. But this time even our national team mainstays are already part of our basketball team for the SEAG. I am excited to watch the games because of this.

RP Team to Tap Tall Players for SEAG

By Olmin Leyba

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the relative lack of ceiling, the Philippines managed to sweep the competitions in the 7th SEABA Women’s Championship, including a 76-54 rout of ex-champ Thailand, en route to its first ever international cage title.

So, for the Discovery Perlas ng Pilipinas’ next campaign, the FIBA-Asia Women’s Championship and the Southeast Asian Games in 2011, coach Haydee Ong aims to strengthen the interior of the crew, which paraded only one six-footer in the SEABA in 6-0 Cassandra Tioseco.

“I hope we’ll have legitimate threats in the post for our two major tournaments next year,” said Ong, whose team eyes 6-3 Chinese Zheng Xiaojing as its naturalized player to fill in the gaping hole in the shaded lane.

Article Source: http://www.pinoysport.com/rp-team-to-tap-tall-players-for-seag.html

With the experience of the Philippine Women's Basketball Team in the recently concluded SEA Championship which the country won for the first time, our women's team will be the hot favorites in this year's SEAG in Indonesia. I hope they will again prevail. Go Filipinos Go!

via reuters

PFF Suzuki Cup U-23 stars to form core of SEAG team

By: Celest R. Flores

MANILA---National team manager Dan Palami is optimistic that the ongoing PFF Suzuki Cup Under-23 national championship will discover untapped talents for theSoutheast Asian Games.

“The lack of available talent locally is one of the problems we’re trying to address,” said Palami. “Competition such as this will allow players to really have a goal.”

With the popularity of the sport reaching an all-time high in the wake of the unprecedented performance of the national squad known as the Azkals, the support and interest for football—even on the grassroots level—also leapfrogged.

“It starts with interest. If they know something is happening, they will get interested in the game,” added Palami in a press conference during the Southern Luzon clusters kickoff at the University of the Philippines Los Banos last March 30.

The composition of the SEA Games’ under-23 squad will be selected from the winners of the PFF Suzuki Cup, but PFF president Mariano “Nonong”Araneta said that a number of Filipino-foreigners and foreign-based Filipinos have expressed interest in joining the squad.

Article Source: http://www.inquirer.net/sports/articles/PFF-Suzuki-Cup-U-23-stars-to-form-core-of-SEAG-team.html

With the rising popularity of football here in the country, I just hope that the country will win a medal in this year's SEA Games. Whatever the color of the medal is, it will be a great celebration if we win a medal in football. It that will happen, this will be the first time that the country won a medal in SEA Games football.

Synchro Philippines eyes SEAG 2011

By Izah Morales

Synchro Philippines is set to join the 26thSoutheast Asian Games in November 2011.

"We're eyeing to join the SEA games and of course, to get medals," said Synchro Philippines head coach Reina Rose Suarez. "If thePhilippine Sports Commission approves the recommendation, then we will have new athletes that would compose the junior national team of Synchro Philippines."

Synchronized swimming—a fusion of swimming, dancing, and gymnastics—was introduced in the Philippines in 2004. Despite being just seven years old, Synchro Philippines has already shown its potential. The Philippines bagged one silver medal and two bronze medals in its first international competition in Thailand in 2007.

Synchro Philippines aims to attract more coaches in May, when they will hold a coaches' clinic funded by FINA Development Coaches Clinic, said Suarez.

"We are inviting and hoping to get more coaches to be interested in synchronized swimming. If we have more coaches, then we'll have more teams. We will have a wider range of athletes to select for competitions abroad," said Suarez.

Article Source: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-inbox/ph-synchronized-swimming-team-eyes-seag-2011-20110405-210749-336.html

This really is a good news to all Filipino sports fan including me. I have been waiting for our country to be represented in synchronize swimming and the long wait is over. This November in the SEA Games in Indonesia, we will be represented by a young girl. Good luck Team Philippines.

via reuters