NEW CLARK CITY — The Philippine softball teams set off to battle Monday in their quest to deliver the gold medals expected of them here in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
The Blu Girls will have a double-header as they tackle Singapore at 9 a.m. and Malaysia at 2:30 p.m., at the Villages.
The Filipinas are the favorites in the three-day competitions having won the gold every time the sport was played in the biennial meet.
They will be bannered by Fil-American Garie Blando, a short stop who hails from Las Vegas, and team captain and catcher Ceska Altomonte.
The Blu Boys, who are a dominating force in the region, will battle Thailand at 9 a.m.
Marlon Pagkalinawan, Leo Barredo and Reagan Park will be the pitchers for the Blu Boys who are beefed up with members of the national team that placed second in the 2017 Asian junior championship.
Meanwhile, Filipino duathletes will try to duplicate the huge success of their triathlete counterparts when they see action today at the Subic Baywalk inside the Subic Freeport Zone.
Jerwyn Banatao, Joey delos Reyes, Monica Torres and Chelsea Sabado will plunge into action boosted by the gold medal sweep scored by John Chicano and Kim Mangrobang Sunday.
Triathlon chief Tom Carrasco is banking on Banatao and Delos Reyes to deliver golden performances.
“I’m pretty confident that either of them (Banato and Delos Reyes) winning the gold and silver in the men’s duathlon,” said Carrasco, adding: “Torres is my bet in the women’s division.”
Duathlon coach Marco Vilog said his charges had been training hard for the past four months in the run-bike-run event around the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.
“They practiced well and they’re inspired by the success of our triathletes,” said Vilog.
Ryan Mendoza was the last Filipino to rule the men’s duathlon race in the 2007 Thailand SEA Games.
