Despite the specter of finishing sixth place overall in the medal standings for the second straight time in the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos, the Philippine Sports Commission still believes the Filipino athletes came up with a laudable performance in major playing fields where new records were set, something that augurs well in an ambitious buildup to the 2010 Asian Games.

“Overall, it is still a good performance,” said PSC chairman Harry Angping Tuesday, three days before the curtains fall in Vientiane. “There were close calls and claims that we should have been awarded more gold medals but that’s all part of the game.”

The incentives that the PSC dangled, according to Angping, only made the athletes strive harder.

Under the law, a SEAG gold medal winner gets P100,000 from the government but Angping said the PSC is giving an additional P100,000 and that another P100,000 will come from his friends for a grand total of P300,000 for every gold won.

The Philippines had finished at sixth spot when the biennial sportsfest was held in Thailand and Angping admits that he feels a bit sad that the Philippines has come up short again of putting on a splendid showing, especially after winning the overall crown in 2005.

“In the morning when I read the papers and look at the medal standings, I get a funny feeling because we are no longer fighting for the first few places and here we are just a few medals ahead of Laos,” said Angping.

There are still several chances on the horizon for the Philippines to strike gold but traditional power Thailand rising star Vietnam have amassed so much that not even a sweep of all the final matches will shove the Philippines to a top three finish.

Now that the games are about to end, Angping is now training his sights on a much tougher arena: the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

Angping said the country’s best 50 athletes from different sports will be assembled early next year and that they’ll be given special treatment.

“They’ll be getting not lower than R25,000 a month in allowances and be sent abroad regularly to train and compete,” said Angping. “I will not hesitate to fund them.”

In the 2006 Doha Asian Games, the Philippines had four gold medals and Angping vows not only to match it but surpass it as well. The four top finishes were in boxing (two), billiards, and wushu (one apiece). (Tempo Sports)