“It is not my intention to resign, but for me to ask permission, given the time and opportunity to train under TBB,” Catiil said in an e-mail message dated March 4.

Two months after quitting the national team, the country’s top triathlete – Neil Catiil – has made a change of heart and asked the Triathlon Association of the Philippines to reconsider him for the Guangzhou Asian Games in November.

TRAP president Tom Carrasco said the 25-year-old Cagayan de Oro native sent him an e-mail message this month apologizing and clarifying that his only purpose of resigning from association was to get better training under the TBB, a world-class camp based in Thailand.

“It is not my intention to resign, but for me to ask permission, given the time and opportunity to train under TBB,” Catiil said in an e-mail message dated March 4.

Carrasco said TRAP officials will sit down and decide whether they will still accept Catiil since they said they have tapped someone else to fill in the void he left.

Catiil had earlier said he opted to train abroad so he can compete in long-distance races such as the Ironman.

“We want to reconsider his request, pero hindi madaling desisyunan yun,” Carrasco said, adding that commitment and dedication to the squad are important factors in becoming an RP team member.

Catiil could have been a vital cog in the triathlon’s Asian Games bid considering his impressive credentials.

Catiil snared the International Triathlon Union (ITU) crown in the Singapore race and finished runner up at the Asian Aquathlon Championships last year.

Last February, Catiil was initially lined up in the RP team alongside 2006 Doha Asian Games players Lea Coline Langing and Kim Mangrobang.

But after he resigned, TRAP tapped Canadian Mattieu O’Halloran to replace him.

Waiting for clearance from the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and processing a Philippine passport, O’Halloran, who has been in the country for two years now, expressed excitement in joining RP team to the Asian Games.

“Triathlon has been dominated by only a few countries. I want to help develop the team to be more competitive,” said O’Halloran, 24, who was a member of the Canadian junior team that won the world championship.