With seven Fil-foreign players leading the squad, chances are high for the Filipinos do minate the event once again when the SEA Games unwraps on Nov. 27.

Bannered by prodigious and now Games and Amusement Board Chairman Eric Buhain, the Filipino tankers lorded over the event, winning 10 gold medals that helped the country finish second overall behind Indonesia in the medal standings.

With Buhain and Akiko Thomson have long retired, the limelights are expected to fall on US-based Miguel Molina and Miguel Mendoza when they plunge into action at the newly-built Los Baños Aquatics Center.

Molina, for one, is the defending champion in the 400-meter freestyle, while Mendoza defends his throne in the 1,500-meter.

The other members of the swimming team are Robert Walsh, JB Walsh, Michael Reyes, Erica Totten and Jackie Pangilinan, who saw action for the country in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"Conditioning is very important for our swimmers for the last 30 days before competition. That’s why they have to keep training," said coach Ishikawa during the SCOOP sa Kamayan forum.

Ishikawa said with the team’s rigid training in China, he is confident that the national swimming team could contribute a minimum of five gold medals and a maximum of 10 in the coming SEA Games.

Evan Grabador, one of 28 national swimmers set to participate in the games, said the China training was an eye-opener for the athletes and coaches.

"Sa China ko lang naexperience yung very rigid na training. May jogging at weight training din kami duon at saka duon din namin na-discover na napakarami pa naming weakness sa techniques na kailangang ma-improve.

"Kaya confident kami this year na yung mga natutunan namin sa China eh maia-apply na namin sa SEA Games," explained Grabador, who is aiming to snare the gold medals in the 100m and 200m backstroke.

Thomson, who also appeared in the weekly forum, expressed confidence the new breed of national swimmers are capable of delivering the gold medals because of the high-level training they underwent in recent months.

"I don’t want to put pressure on the swimmers but I believe and I’m very confident they could be competitive in the SEA Games. We’re also blessed because there are a lot of groups that have been supporting the national team. We felt we’re on track," said Thomson, who is also teaching the up and coming stars of the swimming pool.

Timmy Chua, who saw action in the 2004 Athens Olympics, said he is also determined to prove he deserves to be in the national team.