Olympians banner Phl in SEA tourney

Olympic shooters Jethro Dionisio and Eric Ang beef up the Philippines as the Philippine National Shooting Association (PNSA) ends the year with a bang when it hosts the Southeast Asian (SEA) Shooting Association Championships from 24 November to 14 December.

The 46th edition of the event will feature competitions in practical shooting, sporting clays, bench rest, and Olympic shotgun which includes both trap and skeet shooting.

At least eight to nine neighboring countries are expected to participate in the three-week meet comprising around 300-350 shooters.

“It’s almost like a fiesta. We’re pretty excited about it, although a bit tiring to prepare,” said PNSA secretary-general Irene Garcia in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday, where she guested along with bench rest shooter Richard Cases at the VIP Room of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

“It’s not really our first time to host it, but it’s going to be the biggest multi-shooting event that the Philippines will be hosting for the year.”

The tournament will be held in coordination with the Philippine Practical Shooting Association.

“We just want the whole shooting community to work together, because at the end of the day, Filipinos love to shoot, we really do. And we really excel in shooting,” said Garcia in the same public sports program presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, Smart/PLDT, and the country’s only 24/7 sports app ArenaPlus.

The Philippine team will be likewise spiked by trap shooter Hagen Topacio while the skeet event features Enrique Leandro Enriquez and another Olympian in Bryan Rosario.

Among the shooters in the distaff side include Valerie Levanza, Abby Cuyong, Amparo Acuna, Franchette Quiroz, among others.

Garcia said the PNSA expects a lot of podium finishes for the Filipino shooters in the tournament as they vie against entries from top Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

“This will also gauge how we’re doing in Southeast Asia for the SEA Games next year,” the PNSA official added.

Four different shooting ranges are going to be utilized for the event starting with practical shooting from 24 November until 2 December at the Magnus-Frontsight Firing Range in Lipa City, Batangas, followed by the bench rest at the Marine Corps Training Center in Taguig City from 25 November to 5 December.

From 25 to 30 November, pistol events will likewise be held in the same Taguig shooting range, while sporting clays fires off from 30 November to 9 December at the NCSAP Firing.