Two days before the Games unfolds on Nov. 27, the finals of the water polo event will be held at the Los Baños Aquatic Center in Laguna.
The Filipinos are hoping to figure in the gold medal match, an improvement from their bronze finish two years ago in Vietnam.
"The thought alone of gifting the country its first medal and set the tone for our campaign to win the overall title provide us enough motivation to do well," said Louie Mangahis, chairman of the water polo committee of the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association (PASA).
Competitions in water polo start Nov. 21 and end Nov. 25.
"Of course we’ll be happy duplicating that third place finish, but we’ll be doubly happy winning a silver and extremely joyful winning the gold and get a bonus of competing in next year’s Asian Games," Mangahis said.
"Ang target talaga ng team ay makalaro sa Asian Games at iyan ang pipilitin naming maabot," he vowed.
Mangahis admitted the task is easier said than done with perennial champion Singapore and much-improved Thailand standing on the way.
One thing going for the squad is its intact lineup, the same members who carried the country’s colors in Vietnam and brought home the Asia Pacific championship also two years ago in Hong Kong.
Mangahis also noted that Singapore will be represented by a practically new and untested team.
"Singapore lang naman ang talagang mahigpit na kalaban and I think we can beat them this year because the nucleus of its past champion teams have retired. Thailand, well, tinatalo na natin sila noong una pa man," he assessed.
Lack of exposure remains the team’s biggest liability, having competed only in two international tournaments this year – the last Asian championship in China in June where the Filipinos lost to the Singaporean by mere three points and the Asia Pacific tourney in Hong Kong in August where they ended up fourth despite losing only a game.
"Ang mga talo ng mga bata doon sa dalawang torneo na ‘yon ay parehong mahigpit. Nerbyos lang sa kakulangan nga ng exposure," he recalled.
In contrast, the Singaporeans spent most of the year in Russia while the Thais have been training in Hungary.
The Philippines has yet to win a gold medal, but won the silver twice during the 1993 Singapore Games and the 1999 Brunei edition.
