The 41-year-old Padilla, general manager of Spring Cooking Oil, equalled the Asian Games qualifying score of 564 points in the rapid fire pistol event recently to gain a slot on the Philippine team to the Doha Games this December.

"I’m happy to be back on (the national) team,’’ said Padilla, who has dominated the event for more than two decades. "At least I had managed to shoot a fairly good score despite lack of practice due to my business commitments.’’

Padilla, son of former Olympic shooter Mariano "Tom’’ Ong, first made it to the Bangkok Asiad in 1978. Then he represented the country again in the Asian Games in New Delhi (1982), Seoul (1986), Beijing (1990), Bangkok (1998) and Busan (2002). Now, it’s the 2006 Asiad in Doha, Qatar.

Shooting association president Arturo R. Macapagal has written the 2006 Asian Games Task Force last July 5, informing it of Padilla’s qualifying feat.

Macapagal also recommended the inclusion of Veneranda Garcia to the ladies’ trap team, where she will join Annmaria Gana and Gay Josefina Corral, and Paul Brian Rosario, who broke the individual skeet criteria of 116 with a 118 tally at the PSC/PNSA clay target range in Muntinlupa City.

Others who have made the RP shooting squad are Jethro Dionisio, Eric Ang and Jaime Recio, who won a bronze in the 2002 Asiad and the 2005 Asian Cup men’s trap event; Carolino Gonzales in free pistol and Susan Aguado in air pistol and sport pistol.