Philippines set to deploy 905 athletes for upcoming SEA Games

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Team Philippines is locked-in for its redemption tour in the upcoming 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) from May 5-17, 2023, to be hosted by Cambodia in Phnom Penh, their capital city.

According to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, a total of 905 athletes will be competing in all the games prepared by the host nation.

“I’m confident these are all fighting athletes. They will be competing in all the events despite the odds,” said Tolentino during the General Assembly held at the East Ocean Garden Restaurant in Pasay City.

From a fourth-place finish last SEA Games held in Hanoi, Vietnam, the PHL national sports teams will seek to reclaim the overall champion award which they did during the 2019 edition of the global games.

The 32nd SEA Games will be consisting of 608 total events from 38 sports. The POC chief also added that the PHL delegation will be participating in all of the events.

It is a great jump from the last SEA Games edition where the PHL only sent 656 athletes that won a total of 226 medals.

Aside from their quest of reclaiming the gold medal, team PHL will also look to return to the top 3 when Indonesia edged them for third place last year.

Team PHL will still have a month-and-a-half of remaining preparation time before the SEA Games kicks off. After the finalization of the competing athletes, the POC will then be scheduling a sendoff ceremony on April 15 to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Laban Pilipinas!