The nine-man Philippine team leaves for Singapore Tuesday, hoping to make an impact in the first Youth Olympic Games that will serve as one of their launching pads for tougher international tournaments in the future.

The team will be comprised of weightlifter Patricia Llena, netter Jeson Patrombon, swimmers Jasmine Alkhaldi and Jessie Lacuna, taekwondo jin Kirk Barbosa, and basketball 3-on-3 players Jeron Teng, Bobby Ray Parks Jr., Cris Michael Tolomia and Michael Anthony Pate.

For her impressive resume, Llena has been assigned as the country’s flag-bearer.

RP chief of mission to the Youth Games Mark Joseph said having nine qualifiers for the Aug. 14 to 26 Games is an achievement considering the criteria set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in qualifying tournaments.

“It’s a respectable number to have nine qualifiers. It’s so clustered because of the tight criteria,” said Joseph during the send-off party at the Shang-rila's Heat.

Joseph cited the country’s participation at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where the RP team sent 15 and the United States had 600 athletes.

“But here in the Youth Olympics, we have nine (athletes) and the US has 70,” Joseph explained.

“Suddenly, we’re creating a new level of elite athletes.”

Llena and Alkhaldi expressed their excitement to be part of the RP squad, but both feel the pressure of delivering a good performance in their respective events.

The 16-year-old Llena, the country’s first Youth Games qualifier after snatching a slot during the Thailand qualifier last year, will be competing in the 63kgs and will be up against strong counterparts from Russia, Kazakhstan and China, to name a few.

Alkhaldi, 17, for her part, targets to make waves in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, and the 50m and 100m butterfly despite great odds.

“I’m not familiar with my opponents, especially those from Europe, but I’m ready. My target is to make it to the top 8 and just see how it goes there,” said Alkhaldi, who trained in Sydney, Australia from January to February this year.

Meanwhile, Pharmaton has agreed to be the official multivitamin of the Philippine delegation to the Youth Games, sticking to its goal in helping the athletes increase their level of mental and physical performance during training and competition.

The multivitamin brand had already supported the RP team that competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.