All set for staging of athletics invitational tournament in Isabela

Some 1,000 athletes from here and abroad are expected to see action in the Ayala Philippine Na­tional Open Invitational Athletics Championships slated to be held from March 30 to April 2 at the Ilagan Sports Complex in Isabela province.

At least eight countries have confirmed their participation in the event, which the organizer —the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa) —is using as the final stage in the selection of national team members for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Malaysia in August.

“The Philippine Open will serve as a gauge for our athletes going to Kuala Lumpur. The tournament is also a time for scouting because we expect the participation of topnotch athletes from Malaysia and Singapore,” said Patafa president Philip Ella during Thursday’s press confer­ence at the Orchid Garden Hotel in Pasay City.

The Filipino athletes will be facing tough challenge from contenders from neighboring countries, such as Malaysian middle distance runner Savinder Kaur Singh and hurdler Raja Azhar, and Sri Lankan Nimali Liyanarachi, who has a personal best of 53.9 in the women’s 400 meters.

Leading the Filipino-Ameri­can bets are 2016 Rio Olympics veteran Eric Cray (100m and 400m hurdles), 2015 SEA Games hammer throw record-holder Ca­leb Stuart and 2015 SEA Games bronze medalist Donovant Arriola in long jump.

Ilagan City will also host the 12th Southeast Asia Youth Athletics Championships on March 27 and 28. There will be a one-day break before the staging of the Philippine Open.

Of the 10 member-states of the Asean, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sin­gapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, along with Timor Leste, will join the two-day tournament.

Also present during the press conference was former Ilagan City Mayor Jay Diaz, who has expressed gratitude to Pata­fa for bringing the two competi­tions to Isabela.

“We convey the elation of the people of Ilagan to Patafa for the opportunity to host the Phil­ippine Open and the SEA Youth,” said Diaz, who represented his wife, Mayor Evelyn Diaz.

“Ilagan City is 95 percent ready. The billeting for the athletes and officials, food, transportation and security are already taken care of to ensure the smooth conduct of the back-to-back tournaments.”

Meanwhile, Juico thanked Ayala Corp. for supporting the Patafa.

“The assistance to be provided by Ayala is welcomed by both the government, through the Philippine Sports Commis­sion, and of course, by Patafa, its athletes and sports stakeholders. Ayala supports our country’s aspiration for its athletes to ex­cel, perform well and earn more medals and citations as they compete in various regional and global competitions. Our athletes are a source of pride and inspi­ration for Filipinos, especially the young ones,” said Juico. PNA