Philippine silver medallist at the Rio Olympics, Hidilyn Diaz shows her medal during a press conference as she arrives at the Manila International Airport in Manila on August 11, 2016. Diaz is the country's first Olympic winner in 20 years. / AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS FINAL LIST REVEALED

A powerhouse contingent composed of Southeast Asian Games achievers, Olympic competitors, rising stars and potential victors will be marching to Jakarta to banner the country in the 18th Asian Games.

Olympic hero Hidilyn Diaz, SEA Games gold medalists Mary Tabal, Eric Cray, Kim Mangrobang, Nikko Huelgas, Eumir Felix Marcial and rising stars Mariya Takahashi, Kaitlin de Guzman and EJ Obiena will be in the forefront of battle when a total of 281 Filipino athletes wage war in the continent’s most prestigious athletic conclave set from Aug. 2 to Sept. 10.

A source gave the official list of Filipino competitors to the Daily Tribune following the deadline for the submission of names set by Asian Games chief of mission Richard Gomez last Friday.

The list will be presented to the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) executive council headed by president Victorico Vargas and, upon confirmation, will be formally submitted to the Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC), which pegged the deadline for entry by name on June 30.

The source refused to make any projections, but stressed that the team is capable of surpassing the national squad’s forgettable performance in the previous Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea in 2014.

Filipino-American BMX rider Danny Caluag was the owner of that lone gold medal and he would be back again for another shot at redemption after losing his crown in the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur last year.

Diaz, who shocked the world after claiming the silver medal in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, will be back in action with a handsome chance of delivering the mint following the one-year suspension of her bitter rival from China, who was tested positive for performance-enhancing drug.

She plucked the silver medal in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan, followed by another silver and bronze-medal finish in the IWF World Championship in Anaheim, California last year.

“China will not participate in the Asian Games. We have one less country to think of,” said Diaz, who is bracing for an all-out war against competitors from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Chinese Taipei.

Also expected to make waves are Diaz’s fellow Olympians in long-distance specialist Tabal and sprinter Eric Cray.

The petite marathoner from Cebu skipped the Ayala Philippine Athletics Championship in Cebu early this month, but is said to be in the best condition as she is locked up in a training camp in Italy.

In fact, she placed third in the women’s 21-kilometer event of the Padova Marathon in Padua City, Italy after clocking one hour, 18 minutes and 28 seconds.

Her finish was just a mere 54-second away from silver medalist Alice Mogire Kemunto of Kenya, who surrendered the gold medal to Sara Catarina Costa Pontes of Portugal with a time of 1:15.50.

“The podium finish was just a bonus,” said Tabal, who is training under the watchful eyes of noted Italian coach Guisseppe Giambrone and long-time mentor John Philip Duenas.

“My coaches said that I’m just the third week of my training and I’m not yet in my peak. Still, I was able to come up with a good performance.”

The Texas-based Cray, meanwhile, saw action in the National Open and is now back in the United States to resume his training in a bid to lead a vaunted national athletics team that also has sprinter Trenten Beram, miler Marco Vilog, jumpers Marestella Torres-Sunang and Mark Harry Diones, decathlete Aries Toledo, pole-vault specialist Obiena and Tabal.

Also tipped to steal the thunder is Mangrobang — the reigning champion in women’s triathlon event of the SEA Games.

The 27-year old Mangrobang is said to be entering her peak condition after finishing 25th out of 41 competitors in the women’s elite category of the 2018 Huatulco ITU Triathlon World Cup in Huatulco, Mexico last June 10.

In that event, where she cleared the course in 1:04:16, only a pair of Japanese in Kato Yurie (1:02:38) and Kuramoto Aoi (1:02:43) emerged as the only Asian triathletes who finished ahead of her.

Huelgas, the best triathlete in Southeast Asia since 2015, will also see action together with John Chicano, Mark Hosana, Claire Adorna and Kim Kilgroe.

“They are the best athletes that we have,” said triathlon federation chief Tom Carrasco, adding that Mangrobang and Kilgroe will compete in the women’s individual, Huelgas and Chicano in the men’s individual and Adorna and Hosana in the mixed category.

Meanwhile, Marcial will lead the vaunted boxing team that has an ultimate mission of redeeming itself after emerging without a gold in the previous Asian Games.

A two-time SEA Games gold medalist, Marcial will be entered in the middleweight category and will be joined by Carlo Paalam, Ramel Macado Jr., Ian Clark Bautista, Rogen Ladon, Mario Fernandez, Mario Bautista, James Palicte, Sugar Ray Ocana, Joel Bacho and Rio Olympics campaigner Charly Suarez in the men’s category.

In the women’s side, Josie Gabuco, Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio will carry the fight for the national boxers.

“I don’t want to make any projection,” said Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines executive director Ed Picson.

“But rest assured that we will be very competitive in the Asian Games.”

Rising stars in Takahashi of judo, de Guzman of gymnastics and Obiena of athletics are also tipped to make their presence felt.

Takahashi and de Guzman announced their arrival with a golden performance in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games while Obiena continues to turn doubters into believers despite crashing with an anterior cruciate ligament injury a couple of days before the biennial meet.

Now, the 23-year old Obiena is all pumped up after shattering the existing SEA Games record in the International Stabboc Spring Meeting at the Zweobrucken Westphalz Stadium in Germany.

Obiena registred 5.51 meters to shatter the 5.35-meter record tallied by Porranot Purahong of Thailand in the previous SEA Games.

Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa) president Philip Ella Juico lauded Obiena’s feat, saying that if he would continue to train hard, the gold medal in the Asian Games will be within reach.

“EJ’s amazing performance brings him within striking distance of a podium finish in the Asian Games, where the top record for the gold medal was 5.65 meters in Hiroshima and 5.70 meters in the Asian Championship in Manila in 2003,” said Juico, adding that Obiena is working his way to surpass his personal-best of 5.61 meters.

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