PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino expressed optimism that the Filipinas can deliver a strong performance in the Hangzhou 19th Asian Games in September.
Tolentino, at the same time, described the Filipinas’ campaign in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand as a “job well done.”
“Good job!” Tolentino told the Filipinas from Tagaytay City where he watched the live coverage of the Philippines-Norway match on Sunday afternoon.
The Filipinas, ranked No. 46 in the world, bowed to the world No. 12 Norwegians, 6-0, at the close of their Group A campaign at Eden Park in Auckland.
“Qualifying in the World Cup is historic and an accomplishment itself,” Tolentino said. “Scoring a goal and beating the co-host [New Zealand, 1-0] made the campaign even more historic and worth remembering.”
“The Filipinas showed that they can compete on the world stage and in turn, the world took notice of how strong Filipinos could become in football,” he said. “And the campaign proves we can still catch up in the Asian Games with an intact lineup.”
The Asian Games are set September 23 to October 8.