Iloilo Hosts Philippine Sepak Takraw Training for SEAG

The provincial and local governments of Iloilo will be hosting the more than a month training of the Philippine Sepak Takraw team in preparation for the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) this coming August.

The team cancelled its training in Dipolog City when the Marawi City crisis broke out.

The team paid Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog a courtesy call on Thursday.

Coach Metodio Suico Jr., in a interview, thanked the city and province of Iloilo. “We are thankful because Iloilo city and province willingly accommodated the team by providing us the training venue at the Iloilo Sports Complex and billeting facilities,” Suico said.

He said the team preferred to train outside of Metro Manila so the players could focus on the training

“We are thankful because Iloilo City adopted us. This is a big help to continue our training for the upcoming SEA Games,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Suico said the 12 men and eight women players of Sepak Takraw would undergo rigorous training for the Chinlone and Sepak Takraw Regu (3 on 3), Doubles and Team Doubles events.

Suico said the team was optimistic it would bring home a gold medal in Doubles.

“We expect a gold medal in Doubles because Philippines was the champion in the last world championship, the King’s Cup, wherein we defeated the powerhouse Thailand,” Suico said.

The team is a newbie in Chinlone, the traditional sport of Myanmar. Suico said they were in Myanmar for a month just to learn Chinlone – a combination of sport and dance played by six players per team.

Suico encouraged Ilonggos to play sepak takraw for the sports and for the scholarship opportunities it offers.

Apparently, many Metro Manila schools are scouting sepak takraw players in the provinces.

“It will be very easy for (successful sepak players) to study in private schools, especially those in Metro Manila because only few players play it,” Suico said.

“If you excel in Sepak, there’s a chance that Manila schools scouting for players in the provinces will invite you to be their varsity player,” Suico said. (Maricyn A. De los Santos/Photo by JR Delfin/PNA)