The Philippine National Climbing Team. Paige Javier, ABS-CBN News
MANILA – Fourteen years since sports climbing was last staged in the Southeast Asian Games, the Philippine National Climbing Team aims to get gold in a flash.
Climbing is among the sports making a comeback next month in the biennial regional showcase hosted by Thailand.
Pilipinas Climbing Inc. will be sending 11 athletes to compete in the three disciplines:
Lead: Lissa Vidal, Jo Ala, Justine Arungayan, Iman Mora, John Veloria
Boulder: Lissa Vidal, Praj Dela Cruz, Yca Dizon, Iman Mora, John Veloria, EJ Tayag
Speed: Praj Dela Cruz, Migo Azupardo, John Forones, Popoy Pascua
With sport climbing back in the fold, the team is bent on winning gold again.
"We'd want to get some medals, not one, but maybe we want to get five or six medals. So, there are three disciplines and each one we will have a full set of male and female athletes representing the country," PH Climbing Team head coach Jaime Amiel "Miel" Pahati told ABS-CBN News on Thursday.
In the 2011 SEA Games, Ina Flores struck gold in women's bouldering and won the lone climbing medal for the Philippines in the sport.
Pahati, who was also part of the team in 2011, said they hope to repeat the feat of his wife and stay in contention for medals.
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"So, there is a lot of talent and so it's just a matter of, again, giving them a good chance to be very much prepared for the day and then enjoying the moment. Again, it's a competition and anything can happen. So, it's all about maybe a bit of luck and then all of the hard work that we put into it," he said.
The team is at the tail-end of its four-month program, bringing in three-time Lead Climbing World Cup Champion Jain Kim of South Korea.
"I think it's a big push for them mentally because, again, Jain can share so much experience, so much little tidbits of information that only a world champion would know," Pahati shared.
"Whether it's how you hold on to the holds, how you place your feet, how you mentally prepare yourself. So, all of these things help, you know, build up the athletes to be positive when they go to Thailand," he added.
The team trained with Kim in a bouldering gym in Makati City on Thursday, showing their passion and eagerness to learn from the world champion.
Kim also showed off her champion techniques, joining the team in bouldering.
For most of the athletes, it's a dream come true to make it to the national team.
"I think this is what I'm trained for. So I've been climbing for 13 years and since the first time I climbed, I want to be part of the national team," Veloria said.
The 33-year-old climber said he will use the country's last gold as motivation to once again bring glory to the country.
"Si ate Ina is one of my athletes na ni-lolook up ko talaga. For me, inspiring siya. And yes may pressure, pero gusto ko talagang, patunayan din ang sarili ko na ayun worth it din yung ginagawa namin and for the country," Veloria said.
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The Philippine National Climbing Team. Paige Javier, ABS-CBN News
For Dizon, she wants to defend the country's gold medal in women's bouldering.
"There's a lot of pressure, but at the same time I'm grateful that I'll be representing, and feeling proud that I'll be representing the country," she said.
"A lot of the countries in the Southeast Asia region have already caught up on the climbing scene. So, yeah, a lot of pressure. Of course, everyone wants to win. We're hoping that, of course, we do our best and hopefully get it to the podium," Dizon added.
Cagayan de Oro native Mora said flying to Metro Manila for their training camp will be worth it when he represents the country at the SEA Games.
"As climbers we love pressure. Under pressure kasi, it brings out the best in us. And we're excited to represent and see how far we can make it," he shared.
"For me, I'm used to it [the travel]. There's no choice. For now I know there are gyms working in CDO and Davao. We can't make it an excuse. We need to find ways to make it work," Mora added.
The 14-year-old Dela Cruz, who is based in the United States, is looking forward to showing she can perform at a high level despite her young age.
"It is such a huge honor to be representing the Philippine national climbing team and just going out and representing like how strong our country is and what we can do," she said.
"I think this is a huge opportunity for me, especially because I'm very young and I wanted to show the adults that I am more than just a kid and I have talent too," Dela Cruz added.
As for Azupardo, who is still adjusting to his role, his goal is to blaze a trail for athletes in the speed discipline.
"I come into SEA Games with zero expectations because we don't actually have a speed wall nor have a speed team yet. So for me, what I want to do is to sort of pioneer. So I want to start the speed team or sort of help kickstart what the speed team could look like for the Philippines," he said.
The Philippine Climbing Team will wrap up its current bootcamp on November 17.
The 33rd SEA Games are scheduled for December 9 to 20 in Thailand.