The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) is looking to parade Alex Eala when the national squad competes in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December.

POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said they want to see the 19-year-old tennis ace to lead the country in the biennial meet following her historic stint in the Miami Open last week.

Eala, a Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy graduate, made a lot of heads turn when she stunned a bevy of tennis superstars in the Miami Open — a prestigious WTA 1000 event that is just one rung lower than the Grand Slam.

She beat French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the Round of 64 before shocking Australian Open champion and world No. 5 Madison Keys of the United States in the Round of 32.

She got a lucky break in the Round of 16 when her foe, world No. 11 Paula Bedosa of Spain, pulled out due to injury before scoring another upset of world No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland in the quarterfinals to advance to the Last Four.

Although she bowed to world No. 4 Jessica Pegula of the US in the semis, she still emerged as the best Filipina tennis player as she soared to a career-best No. 75 in world ranking.

Tolentino said Eala will never turn her back on the country.

“She loves to represent the country. So as long as it doesn’t conflict with her schedule in her major tournaments, she will definitely represent us again in the SEA Games, the Asian Games, and hopefully, the Olympics,” Tolentino told DAILY TRIBUNE in a telephone conversation on Tuesday.

“She will be a big inspiration again to the Filipino athletes, especially the tennis community.”

A gold medal in the SEA Games is something that is missing in Eala’s trophy collection.

In her last stint in the biennial meet in Vietnam in 2022, she settled for three bronze medals from the singles, mixed doubles and team events.

If ever she pushes through with her SEA Games stint, Eala is expected to collide with Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand — the second-highest ranking Southeast Asian in the WTA board at No. 110.

Meanwhile, the Senate commended Eala’s historic run in the Miami Open yesterday via a Proposed Senate Resolution (PSR).

Through PSR No. 1330, Senator Joel Villanueva praised Eala for making it into the Top 100 of the WTA rankings and inspiring Filipinos through her matches against tougher and higher-ranked opponents.