Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 18) — The Philippine Sports Commission on Tuesday expressed optimism that more national athletes will bag medals in the upcoming 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, with hopes of surpassing the country’s fourth-place finish last year.
The Philippines wrapped up the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam with 227 medals: 52 gold, 70 silver, and 105 bronze.
PSC chairperson Richard Bachmann is confident that Filipino athletes will perform well in the upcoming SEA Games in Cambodia which will kick off on May 21.
He noted that the country’s national teams had an impressive stint in various competitions and training camps ahead of the regional meet.
“If you look at some of the sports who have been training abroad or going to events abroad, they’ve been winning so hopefully that will carry over to Southeast Asian Cambodia,” Bachmann said in a press briefing.
“It’s gonna be tough, it’s not gonna be easy,” said Bachmann. “It won’ t happen overnight. It’s a continued battle with the NSAs (national sports associations) to actually focus right now.”
The Philippine team will banner this year 905 athletes across 38 sports and 608 events in Cambodia. This is a significant increase from 2022’s contingent in Vietnam with 656 athletes.
