Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 23) – The Philippine dancesport team is tempering their expectations ahead of the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam next month.
The group played a big role in the Philippines’ overall championship conquest in the 2019 SEA Games after they harvested 10 golds and two silvers at home soil.
Ana Nualla – who bagged three golds with partner Sean Aranar in the tango, Viennese waltz, and five dance events in 2019 – admitted their training program for the Vietnam meet is not as “intense” compared to their preparation three years ago.
“Personally, our (Sean and I) confidence level is not as high as compared to 2019 SEA Games,” Nualla told CNN Philippines as she explained the impact of the lockdowns brought by the COVID-19 pandemic in their preparations for Vietnam SEA Games.
“Yung support na nakuha namin ngayon para sa training ay malayo kesa noon, though we understand naman kasi nga nag-pandemic,” she shared. “Tapos contact sports pa ang dancesport, ang tagal bago maging legal na mag-open ang mga training studios namin.”
[Translation: The support that we got now in training is far from the previous one, though we understand because of the pandemic. Then dancesport is a contact sport and it took a while for our training studios to open.]
In Vietnam, Nualla and Aranar will defend their titles in the three standard events they ruled three years ago at Clark, Pampanga.
Meanwhile, Mark Gayon and Mary Joy Renigen will also go for back-to-back golds in the waltz and foxtrot standard categories. The couple will also vie for the gold in the quickstep event, where they settled for a silver in 2019.
The pair of Angelo Marquez and Stephanie Sabalo is listed in the three Latin American events: Cha Cha Cha, jive, and five dance.
In the last SEA Games, Marquez and Sabalo took home a gold in five dance and a silver in jive categories. They are also tipped to defend the country’s crown in Cha Cha Cha, won by the duo of Wilbert Aunzo and Pearl Caneda in 2019.
Aunzo and Caneda will attempt to bag their second straight gold in the samba and rumba Latin American events. They will also seek to protect the country’s championship in paso doble, which was topped by Marquez and Sabalo in 2019.
Philippine dancesport team head coach Boggs Enriquez said he believes his athletes can still dominate the upcoming SEA Games competition, but with one glaring difference this time.
“The team can dominate the competition, but the home court advantage does not belong to us this year,” he said.
In 2019, Vietnam is the far runner-up in the dancesport event after winning two golds, seven silvers, and two bronzes.
Before they leave for Vietnam, Enriquez said they will have a week-long training camp in Cebu with a foreign coach to further boost the capabilities and morale of the dancesport athletes.
“We will turn our frustrations and disappointments into power,” Nualla assured ahead of their SEA Games title defense.
The 31st SEA Games dancesport competition is scheduled on May 15-16.
