Gilas Pilipinas members celebrate with their gold medals after defeating Jordan in their men’s basketball gold medal at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) on Tuesday handed out cash incentives to the brilliant performers for Team Philippines in the Asian Games (Asiad) in Hangzhou three months ago, with three individual gold medalists bringing home P1 million each.
Grapplers Annie Ramirez and Meggie Ochoa and pole vault ace EJ Obiena were rewarded the fruits of their labor, while Gilas Pilipinas, which ended a 61-year wait for the country to reclaim the basketball gold, had all of its members making P200,000.
The POC shelled out a total of P12.5 million in bonuses, which president Bambol Tolentino hopes will spur athletes to perform even better in the future.
“Our athletes deserve these cash incentives from the POC. Aside from rewarding them for their efforts, it will motivate other athletes to perform exceptionally well in future meets,’’ said Tolentino.
Silver medalists Eumir Marcial (boxing) and Arnel Mandal (wushu) got P500,000 each and all individual bronze medalists took P300,000. Apart from the four golds and two silvers, Team Philippines brought home 12 bronze medals.
Annie Ramirez reacts after winning the gold in women’s jiu-jitsu in the Asian Games. –POC POOL
Ramirez totaled P5 million in bonuses, including P2 million from the Philippine Sports Commission through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation and P2 million from President Marcos himself.
She said that she will enjoy the holidays with the rest of her family before returning to work early next year.
“From among the tournaments where I will compete next year, it’s the Aimag (Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games) which I’m looking forward to. I want to defend my title there,’’ said Ramirez, who is currently busy with her soon-to-rise business—a coffee shop at San Marcelino, Manila.
“This year, I think God had a plan for me. We have several upcoming tournaments next year, but I’m not thinking about them yet,’’ Ramirez told the Inquirer during the POC general assembly at East Ocean Palace restaurant.
Ramirez first came under the spotlight when the former University of Santo Tomas judoka ruled her weight class during the 2017 Aimag in Turkmenistan. INQ
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