23rd Sea Games

[zengatsu]

---

yeah congrats to us all mga pinoy!!!

[lance148]

congratulations volunteers

Update your list of friends join us at FRIENDSTER

FRIENDSTER:

seagames2005cebu@yahoo.com

yahoogroups:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/cebusea2005/

tell your friends about this BIG NEWS.




NOte:

SEA GAMES 2005 avid volunteer ONLY.

IF your not one of US. YOur NOT WELCOME


pass it on

[slakker]

Congrats RP Team for being the overall champion. Next goal will be to win the SEAG overall championship in a foreign land. Go go go!

[clarkhkent]

maayu ra sad walay basketball kay dghan ang taw nga nanan-aw sa ubang events nga dili kaau sikat!!! so murag blessing jud to nga walay basketball....

next destination...... ASIAN GAMES in DOHA, QATAR!

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

LANCE ....2006 is more or less 3 weeks shy away . Whats next ? Kay 2005 man ang topic ana kaha .

[jerx d great]

good job phil!!!

[LytSlpr]

Thailand’s Sour Grapes
by Antonio C. Abaya
Written Dec. 04, 2005
For the Standard Today,

December 06 issue




Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra’s snide remarks that accumulating gold medals had been made a greater priority than upholding the sporting spirit at the XXIII Southeast Asian Games has the distinct aroma of sour grapes dipped in a pile of elephant manure.



Said he: “Normally, I have no time to watch sports, but I often watched these Games and kept thinking ‘why do results turn out to be that way.’ I don’t know what to say.� How about saying, “The Filipino athletes were just unexpectedly better.�



But instead, he pontificated that “It’s normal to win or lose. But it’s not nice if we host such Games and do this to other countries. In sports, I believe we have to develop athletic skills and good sportsmanship. We should not focus only on medals and forget about being good sports.�



He did not specifically name the Philippines, but who else could he have meant when he lamented that several competitors at these Games were not up to par, but win honors anyway because “the organizer aims only to favor their own athletes.� But he said that Thailand would not lodge any official protest against the results.



But why the hell not? If there have been instances of unfair refereeing or foul play against their athletes, they should file protests, instead of sulking in their corner fondling and sniffing their sour grapes, and making unfounded allegations of cheating, which they seem to be not sure enough about to pursue with official protests at the proper fora..



They could have duplicated what happened in the 5,000-meter run, when the leading Filipino runner elbowed his Thai rival at the finish line to win the race. The Thais filed a protest and when the international board of judges reviewed the video of that event, they disqualified the Filipino and awarded the gold medal to the Thai. Why didn’t the Thais file protests about the other allegedly unfair matches where they felt they were cheated?



Thaksin’s beef seems to have been fed him by Jaruk Areerajakaran, sec-gen of Thailand’s Olympic Committee who complained that very same day that the Philippines had robbed Thai competitors of victories in several sports, including boxing, gymnastics and taekwondo. “It is hard to win at the Games since the hosts are cheating,� he said, conceding that the Thai team would not be able to win its targeted 110 to 118 gold medals. All quotes from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Dec.01 issue.



So that’s it, isn’t it?. It’s really about gold medals and winning, about which Thaksin struck a morally superior air when he lectured us about being good sports and not to focus on gold medals alone. The Thais, like everyone else – except perhaps Laos, Brunei, Cambodia and Timor Leste - came here to strike gold. The Thais are just bigger hypocrites about it.



It should be kept in mind that Thaksin and Jaruk made their sour graping remarks after the fourth day of competition, when the gold medal standings were as follows: the Philippines 52, Vietnam 30, Thailand 22 and Malaysia 19, Indonesia 12.



With such a poor early showing, Thailand certainly did not look like it was on its way to bagging those targeted 110 to 118 gold medals. An alibi had to be invented to explain the failure to the Thai public, especially since Thaksin is facing an investigation for official corruption that can end his political career. Hence the sour grapes about cheating, to curry favor and win brownie points with the Thai electorate, at our expense.



Thai Embassy and sports officials here in Manila took pains to soften the pointed bitching coming from Bangkok, explaining that Thaksin’s remarks were “taken out of context.� But two days after Thaksin’s and Areerajakaran’s sour graping, Surapong Suebwonglee, identified as chief government spokesman in Bangkok, repeated the allegations about flawed judging, etc. Thaksin’s snide remarks were NOT taken out of context.



Said Surapong: “From live telecasts to slow motion replays, we can clearly tell there are many serious problems with judging standards in some sports…Any Thai, from leader to an ordinary citizen, is entitled to speak out against what they feel is wrong.�



But any sports official from any participating country is also entitled to file formal protests when he/she feels their athletes have been unfairly judged. Referees, umpires and judges, after all, do not come solely from the host country but from an international pool that includes all participating countries, as well as many who come from other, neutral countries, vetted by everyone.



Complaints about specific events should have been filed formally against the offending athletes, referees, umpires or judges, whatever their nationalities, not vented out in media against an entire country. The fact that the Filipino winner of the 5,000-meter run was stripped of his gold medal by a panel of international judges, after the Thais had protested against his unfair behavior at the finish line, is solid proof that the appeals system is alive and well and is the proper venue for other, similar complaints.



The problem with the Thais is that they have an attitude problem.



Thailand is the undisputed dominant power in the Southeast Asian Games, and it is hard for their sports and political officials to admit being bested by an upstart country like the Philippines, which they have gotten used to regarding with disdain.



In the previous 22 SEA Games, Thailand won the overall gold medal standings in nine of those Games, including all five in which it was the host country (1959, 1967, 1975, 1985, 1995). Thailand was second best in gold medals in ten of those Games, and third best in only three. Thailand has never ranked below third. Truly an enviable record.



The only country to match Thailand is Indonesia which was first in gold medals also in nine of those Games, including all three in which it was the host country (1979, 1987 and 1997). Indonesia was second best in gold medals in another two of those Games, and third best in another three. Indonesia has also never ranked below third, but did not participate in the first eight Games, from 1959 to 1975.



By contrast, the poorly motivated and perennially disorganized Philippines has never come out first in gold medals until now, even though it hosted the Games twice (1981 and 1991). It was second best in gold medals twice (1983 and 1991), in both cases losing out to Indonesia, third best in another five of those Games, fourth best in another three, fifth best in another three, and even sixth once (1977). A dismal and uneven record, by any standard. We also did not participate in the first eight Games, from 1959 to 1975.



But as of December 05, 2005, with only eight events to be contested, the Philippines has won 113 gold medals, compared to Thailand’s 72, Vietnam’s 66, Malaysia’s 56, Indonesia’s 46 and Singapore’s 41. The lead is overwhelming and cannot justifiably be explained by “cheating.�



The biggest haul ever in gold medals (192) was made by Indonesia in the 1997 Games in Jakarta; followed by (185) also by Indonesia in the 1987 Games, also in Jakarta; (157) by Thailand in the 1995 Games in Chiang Mai (Thailand); (156) by Vietnam in the 2003 Games in Hanoi; and (111) by Malaysia in the 2001 Games in Kuala Lumpur.



Do I have to spell it out for the Thais? All things being more or less equal, home teams always have an advantage when playing against foreigners in their home territory. It does not necessarily mean cheating. The cheering of partisan crowds increases the adrenalin rush and helps make athletes perform better than they usually do.



This is true for the Indonesians and the Thais and the Vietnamese and the Malaysians, as I have shown above, and it is also true for the Filipinos, even if we have been a little slower than they in harnessing our energy and in realizing our potential, which is true for us not only in sports but also in many other fields as well..



But by and large, the Philippines won the 23rd Southeast Asian Games fair and square. Congratulations to our athletes, their coaches, their trainers, their corporate sponsors and our sports officials for their splendid victory. And since we are so quick to blame her for our failures, we should in fairness also congratulate President Arroyo for this singular success.



And if the Thais cannot find it in themselves to accept our victory as having been won honorably, I suggest that the Philippines boycott the XXIV SEA Games in Bangkok in 2007. *****



Reactions to acabaya@zpdee.net or ax 824-7642. Other articles in www.tapatt.org

[FK]

But instead, he pontificated that “It’s normal to win or lose. But it’s not nice if we host such Games and do this to other countries. In sports, I believe we have to develop athletic skills and good sportsmanship. We should not focus only on medals and forget about being good sports.�

He has some point though... this things(reklamos) don't just happen today... it happened last year.Â* I even heard a commentator while watching the games on TV that last SEA games, if there is a Vietnam judge sure win na kono ang Vietnam.

Na timingan lang jud nga pag comment niya naa ron gi-host sa Pinas.

[torcuato marcelo]

Okay Rp won the overall championship. However I would just like to comment on the trip sponsored by Mike Arroyo for Filipino athletes in Hongkong DIsneyland. Can you imagine the expenses of this trip? I mean why go to Hongkong when there is Enchanted Kingdom. Now, where does Mike Arroyo get money out of this very expensive trip?

What happen to the slogan WOW PHILIPPINES? It does not look good in the eyes of the foreigners that while we are campaigning for them to visit our country, here is our athletes lead no less by Mike Arroyo spend millions of pesos for a trip to Hongkong disneyland.

[pandisal]

ot. why, does the foreigner goes to philippines for the enchanted kingdom? why with this so many reklamos? you guys should take it easy... our athletes deserve more than the enchanted kingdom... and besides... its not a tax payer money their going to spend... (though some of it are supposed to go to tax if it was not donated) ... are you not happy for our champs? if I have that kind of money and luxury and pride... why not give my athletes this kind of rewards... THEY DESERVE IT!!!!

:mrgreen: