JAKARTA -- Defending SEA Games champion decathlete Aries Toledo will kick off the Philippine campaign in the 18th Asian Games athletics competition at the Gelora Bung Karno main stadium here on Saturday.
Toledo will see action in the men's 100-m, long jump, and shot put events in the morning and will return in the afternoon for the high jump and 400-m events.
Also competing on Saturday are two-time SEA Games bronze winner Janry Ubas in the men's long jump qualifying and Filipino-American Katrina Marie Knott in the first round of the women's 100-m run.
Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA) president Philip Ella Juico has expressed optimism that despite the strong opposition, his players may pull off surprises.
The PATAFA has tapped the services of Italian strength and conditioning coach Carlo Buzzichelli to prepare the national athletes.
Buzzichelli is the coach of American Tianna Bartoletta, the reigning Olympic long jump champion.
Juico did not predict how many medals his players would deliver but mentioned Filipino-American Eric Shawn Cray, Ernest John Obiena, and Mark Harry Diones as medal prospects.
Cray, a three-time SEA Games champion in the 400-m hurdles, won the gold while Obiena (pole vault), and Diones (triple jump) took the bronze at the 2017 Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar, India.
Mary Joy Tabal, the 2017 SEA Games gold winner in marathon, will compete on Sunday along with Clinton Kingsley Bautista (men's 110-m hurdles qualifying), Marestella Torres Sunang (women's long jump qualifying), and Toledo.
The other members of the team are Trenten Anthony Beram, Anfernee Lopena, Marco Vilog, Francis Medina. (PNA)
