RP’s top tennis player Cecil Mamiit was very candid about the subject and admitted that the tennis team to the Southeast Asian Games will be hard-pressed to duplicate its three-gold medal harvest in the 2005 edition of the games hosted by the Philippines.
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| Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino | | "For one, the Thais have more world-ranked players than us, that is why they are seeded number 1 while Indonesia also has been ranked for the same reason though I am more focused on Thailand than Indonesia, it is better to think of just one rather than two major opponents," Mamiit said.
But he cited the reduction in the number of events where the players can compete as the biggest factor which will affect the chances of the Philippine team.
"The changes made in the rules favor the Thais because they have more weapons and more options, particularly in the doubles games," Mamiit said after he conducted the Cebuana Lhuillier-backed free tennis clinic fin Mandaluyong City last Sunday.
"What we need to do is to jump the gun on them and take the lead, let them play a catch-up game so that pressure is on them and not on us, that is also why I do not want to predict how many gold medals we will win, I do not want to put more pressure to the team. One thing I am sure of is that I am in much better condition than I was when we played Kuwait in the Davis Cup," Mamiit added.
Mamiit also downplayed the weather factor following reports that the temperature has been dropping in the Thai capital.
"The weather will be neutral, Eric (Taino) prefers cold weather, I prefer warmer weather."
RP men’s tennis team head coach Cris Cuarto agreed with Mamiit that Thailand will be tough.
"Even if we are seeded third, we know that the Indonesians lost to Kuwait and we beat Kuwait, so it will really be between us and the Thais. The truth is the Thais do not want to meet us in the semis, sana daw sa finals na lang and I believe that is because they also respect us. I believe two gold medals will be feasible for us. We really got affected by the change in rules regarding the number of events a player can play, " said Cuarto.
"Thailand may have the edge, manpower-wise but I believe our boys will play well at the SEA Games, Cecil and Eric will be carrying the load with support from Johnny (Arcilla) and PJ (Tierro)," assessed team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier.
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