The national teams for the Southeast Asian Games this May have been completed with the inclusion of two captain’s picks for both the men’s and ladies squads.
The National Golf Association of the Philippines named Gab Manotoc and Kristoffer Arevalo to join Jet Hernandez and Jed Dy, the two players who topped the 144-hole qualifying for the two outright berths held at Luisita, in the men’s team.
Veteran Lois Kaye Go and Mafy Singson, meanwhile, were included to complete the ladies trio that will be led by Rianne Malixi, who was the runaway topnotcher of the qualifying that was held simultaneous with the men.
“It’s a very young team with the infusion of fresh and new talents that hopefully will pull off a successful mission in Vietnam,” said Bones Floro, secretary general of the NGAP.
While the ladies squad will be aiming for a repeat of their gold medal sweep when the country last hosted the SEA Games, the men’s will be seeking to end a 12-year gold medal drought.
And it’s a youth-laden squad that will be tasked to do this with an average age of 20. Hernandez, 16, Dy, 17, and Manotoc, 24, will all be suiting up for their first national team duty while Arevalo, 23, makes a comeback.
The NGAP has lined up several exposure events for the national teams and already plunged into serious training as early as last week under national coaches Miko Alejandro and Boyet Zaragosa.
“It’s going to be a fast and furious type of preparation for the teams with the SEAG just two months away. It will be a mix of tournament and physical training,” said Floro.