Powerhouse quintet

That’s an option: Five flag bearers as show of force of our national team.

JORDAN Clarkson carries the Philippine flag during the opening ceremonies of the 18th Asian Games. AFP

Five potential gold medalists in the upcoming 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games are in the short list of Team Philippines to serve as the flag bearer in the 11-nation conclave.

Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz of weightlifting, Tokyo Olympics-bound EJ Obiena of athletics, Asian Games gold medal winner Margielyn Didal of skateboarding, two-time SEA Games gold medalist Eumir Marcial of boxing and World Championship bronze medal winner Carlos Yulo of gymnastics are all being eyed to carry the flag during the opening ceremony on 30 November at the Philippine Arena.

But there’s a possibility that all these five athletes will be appointed as flag bearers for Team Philippines.

“That’s an option: Five flag bearers as show of force of our national team,” said a ranking sports official who is privy on the matter.

“Having five flag bearers during the opening ceremony could be a good idea to symbolize the different clusters of the SEA Games.”

Philippine Sports Commission chairman and chief of mission William Ramirez, his commissioners and deputies will make the recommendation to the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), which is the legitimate sports body in naming the flag bearer.

Among the five, three-time Olympian Diaz is the most decorated, having clinched the silver medal in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

The 28-year-old from Zamboanga City also won the gold medal in the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta last year, the country’s first mint in weightlifting.

Obiena is also a strong candidate as the 23-year old pole vaulter is on a roll this year, winning the gold in the 2019 Summer Universiade in Napoli and the Olympic slot-clinching performance in Chiara also in Italy with a personal-best of 5.81 meters to become the first Filipino athlete to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games.

He is currently ranked No. 10 in the world.

Didal, Marcial and Yulo are also worthy candidates after making waves in their respective sports.

The 20-year-old Didal was a gold medalist in last year’s Asian Games while the middleweight Marcial was coming off a silver-medal finish in the International Boxing Association World Championship in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Yulo, the youngest among the candidates at 19 years old, grabbed the bronze medal in the floor exercise event of the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastic Championship in Australia and silver medal in men’s vault of the Baku World Cup in Azerbaijan and in men’s floor event of the Doha World Cup also last year.

In the 2017 edition of the biennial meet, Kirstie Elaine Alora of taekwondo served as the flag bearer for Team Philippines, which finished sixth place with 23 gold, 33 silver and 64 bronze medals.

Then in the Asian Games, Jordan Clarkson of the Cleveland Cavaliers carried the flag after the Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee gave him the green light to compete for Gilas Pilipinas in the men’s basketball competition.