THE Philippines needs to con­centrate on developing athletes in sports disciplines where it is strong at. Former Philippine Olympic Committee president Cristy Ra­mos shared her reflections on the plans of the POC and the Phil­ippine Sports Commission this year. Ramos, who acted as match commissioner of the charity game between the CF Internacio­nal de Madrid and the Azkals Aly­ansa, believes that the Philippines can be a potential medal winner in athletics, gymnastics and bad­minton, together with boxing, taekwondo and other sports dis­ciplines with weight categories.

“In terms of priority sports, we have to look at where the Philip­pines is strong at,” said Ramos, who added she honestly believes the Philippines can’t be a world power in basketball.

As for the sport of football, Ramos feels that the country is a long shot in this area, although it’s not impossible. “We have the potential be­cause we are kind of starting out. International football is so de­veloped that it is difficult for the Philippines to catch up, unless we invest heavily in the sport not only in team support, but also in grassroots development and fa­cilities development,” added Ra­mos. Ramos also said that the Philip­pines should also try to put more money in the grassroots develop­ment and the construction of new facilities in football.

The POC is set to determine which sports discipline will be prioritized and which athletes de­serve extra attention within the next two years. The olympic body will tackle this as soon as POC president president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco arrives from a vaca­tion in the United States.(ms) With prioritization in mind this year, the POC and the national sports associations will tackle the PSC’s plans to implement a two-pronged program within the next two years.

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