Buhain upbeat on swimmers’ chances

The Philippine Aquatics Inc. (PAI) is confident that its swimmers will put on a good showing in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games from 9 to 20 December.

With two-time Olympic medalist Kayla Sanchez leading the way, PAI secretary general Eric Buhain feels the Philippines should do well as the squad will also field Teia Salvino and Xandi Chua, who both won a gold each in the SEA Games’ 32nd edition in Cambodia in 2023.

Salvino got the job done in the women’s 100-meter backstroke and Chua pulled it off  in the 200-meter back.

The team also brought home six silvers and eight bronzes.

It was the country’s best medal tally since the 2009 edition of the biennial meet in Vientiane with four golds, six silvers and one bronze medal.

“I think this year will be a better SEA Games for Philippine Aquatics. I think Kayla is a veteran athlete.  I think she knows how to prepare herself for a big competition,” Buhain said.

“She's done well for us in Asian Games and the Olympic Games so, I think for the SEA Games, she herself is very excited to represent the country.”

Joining Sanchez in Thailand are SEA Games gold medalists Chua and Chloe Isleta, Kyla Bulaga, Quendy Fernandez, Miranda Renner, Jasmine Mojdeh, Logan Noguchi, Joran Orogo and Gian Santos.

Since switching federations in 2023, Sanchez has shown flashes of brilliance in her stint with the Philippines.

Her best performance for the Philippines so far was at the Paris Olympics last year where she set a new national record in the women’s 100-meter freestyle at 53.67 seconds.