Asiad Notes: Quick bonding

The Philippine staff, led by Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William ‘Butch’ Ramirez (standing eighth from right), supporting the athletes attend the flag-raising ceremony on Friday. Also with them are Deputy Chief of Mission Richard Bachmann and Philippine Olympic Committee Secretary General Pato Gregorio. PSC Photo The iceberg that separates Jordan Clarkson and Gilas Pilipinas completely melted following a couple of practice sessions and a 20-minute bus ride back to the Athletes’ Village.

During the trip, everybody was in stitches as a television reporter was trying to interview Don Trollano in English complete with American accent.

Clarkson, sitting at the back, was seen smiling sheepishly as if trying to control himself from bursting into a laugher.

Then, one Filipino player said: “Look at JC (Clarkson), he’s now enjoying the team. He told me that in the States, they don’t bond like this. He said this is his first time to have crazy teammates like we are.”

Also getting crazy and all fun in the bus was the women’s volleyball team, which is returning to the Asian Games for the first time in 36 years.

Aby Marano grabbed the microphone from ESPN5’s Apple David to interview her teammates about their experience in their two-week training in Japan.

He asked Kianna Dy, Mylene Paat before moving in front to talk to other teammates like Mika Reyes and Alyssa Valdez.

It won’t be a surprise if Marano lands a hosting gig anytime soon.

The plane that overshot the runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Thursday night claimed its biggest victim – Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Ricky Vargas.

Vargas suffered delay in his flight to this bustling metropolis after a Xiamen Air blocked the runway of NAIA.

His Philippine Airlines Flight 535 was supposed to arrive 12 midnight but it landed 4:30 am on Saturday due to tight runway traffic.

Also in the same flight were POC chairman Abraham Tolentino, Foreign Affairs Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano and some members of the POC executive council.

Vargas graced the opening ceremonies last night, his first as POC president following a victory in a court-ordered election last February.

Everybody loves the Athletes’ Village at the Kemayoran area in Central Jakarta.

The complex has 15 tower buildings with 7,426 units that can accommodate more than 20,000 athletes, coaches, officials and secretariat staff.

It is equipped with a mess hall, fitness gym, convenience store and automatic teller machines.

Food is overflowing with choices of Indonesian and world cuisines.

As basketball player Don Trollano, a first-timer in international tournament as big as the Asian Games, said: “We have to watch our diet because we will all get fat here. There’s nothing like this in Manila!”