The 141-strong Philippine delegation carries a big fighting chance when it plunges into action in the Third Asian Youth Games set Oct. 22 to 31 in Manama, Bahrain.
‘We’ll train and do our best to get a medal,’ said boxer Leo Mhar Lobrido, one of two Philippine flag bearers in the 10-day, 45-nation quadrennial meet during the national team’s photo shoot on Monday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Lobrido, a Bago City (Negros Occidental) native who turned 16 only last Friday, is one the nation’s top bet for a medal, most probably a gold, being a decorated internationalist after having won in the Fourth Greater Area Bay Youth Boxing Challenge in Shenzhen, China, late last year.
High school volleyball star Harlene Serneche, the other flag bearer, is also optimistic that they will make the country proud.
‘We have the potential and hopefully we’ll be competitive there,’ said the 18-year-old National University student during the photo shoot that featured 30 athletes to rally support for the delegation led by Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino and the organization’s partners Avel Bacudio, Milo and Oishi.