11 KALAHOK NA BANSA SA SEAG PORMAL NA KINILALA

PORMAL na kinilala kahapon ang presensiya ng 11 kalahok na bansa sa 30th Southeast Asian Games sa simpleng flag-raising ceremonies na isinagawa sa plaza ng Athletes Village sa New Clark City sa Capas, Tarlac.

Ayon kay Team Philippines deputy chef de mission Stephen Fernandez, ang mga delegasyon ay winelcome ni Athletes Village Mayor Arrey Perez, Bases Conversion Development Authority vice president for Business Development.

Dumalo ang contingents mula sa Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam, at  host Philippines.

Ani Fernandez, ang bandila ng mga bansa ay itinaas sa alphabetical order.

“Of course as the host, the Philippine was the last country to raise the national flag,” aniya.

“It was a very simple program with the either the chief of mission or deputy chief of mission leading the respective delegations,” sabi pa ni Fernandez, na kinatawan si Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Butch Ramirez, ang chef de mission ng Team Philippines.

Kasama ni Fernandez sa flag-raising rites ang ilang arnis athletes, na nakakuwartel na sa Village, at ang mga miyembro ng medical staff.

“There was an exchange of tokens while Perez gave an inspirational talk, reminding everyone of maintaining the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship when the actual competition begins and urging everyone in making the SEA Games a success,” wika ni Fernandez.

Ang event ay isinagawa, isang araw bago ang opening ceremonies ng biennial meet ngayong araw sa 50,000-seat Philippine Arena sa Bocaue, Bulacan.

“We expect a lot of athletes and officials to start streaming in to the Athletes Village today,” dagdag ng deputy CDM, at sinabing bukod sa aquatics at athletics squads, ang iba pang campaigners na maglalaro sa kalapit na Pampanga ay titira rin sa  NCC Athletes Village.

”The men’s and women’s softball teams have begun moving in and the other athletes who will be seeing action in Pampanga will also have their quarters here.”