MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will meet with all 41 heads of National Sports Association on Tuesday at the Manila Yacht Club to discuss preparations for this year’s Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia.

PSC Chairman Richie Garcia and the PSC Board are expected to discuss the budget for the country’s participation in the SEAG set November while the NSA heads are expected to present proposals regarding the requirements for the training program of their athletes.

After a disaster in Laos where the country finished a dismal fifth, the PSC is optimistic that an early preparation might help the PH team improve its performance.

The country has been through several dismaying results in recent years. Last year, in the Asian Games, the Philippine team managed to win just three gold medals, a very disappointing show for a nation having a population of about 100 million and a sports budget that runs in the hundreds of millions.

Garcia said that with an early meeting of NSA officials, the embarrassing trend might be improved.

“We have more time to prepare, and we’re starting early,” Garcia said.

The country claimed the SEAG overall title when it hosted the 2005 SEAG, but in the 2007 Thailand it slipped to sixth place.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. is also confident that the country can regain the overall championship in the biennial meet although he said it will depend on the events the host will line up.

“The events lined up usually favor the host country, and I’m just hoping that the events we’re good at won’t be scrapped,” Cojuangco said in a radio interview.

Initially, there are 44 sports in the list, and that includes basketball, the country’s No. 1 sport.

Aside from basketball, billiards and snooker, bowling, boxing, chess, taekwondo and wushu are also included. Changes, though, are expected in the coming months as some member countries lobby for the inclusion of other sports.

Kristel Satumbaga, Manila Bulletin