"Confident ako sa mga atleta ko because at a young age, nakakasabay sila sa mga experienced athletes," said RP team coach Len Escollante. "Most of our opponents are surprised with our performance because we have a team full of teenagers in a sport where most of the participants are either in their late 20s or in their 30s."

So far, the RP squad has only one international stint calendared in preparation for the Asiad — the World Junior and Senior Championships in Szeged, Hungary this August — but Escollante is confident the quality of training in the country would greatly help her athlete’s performance.

The young national team battled against foreign counterparts in their late 20s and 30s in last month’s 23rd Southeast Asian Games and made a splash with one silver and two bronze medals.

John Oliver Victorino, 17, and Jeremiah Tambor, 19, debuted in the 11-nation biennial meet with a second place finish in the 500-m canoe doubles, losing by less than a second to Indonesians Asnawir and Roinadi, aged 38 and 34 years old.

Norwell Cajes, 19, and Marvin Amposta, 18, for their part, snared bronze medals in the 500-m canoe singles and kayak singles, respectively.