NOT even a credible performance by the Philippine wushu team in the 2007 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games will stop them from preparing doubly hard for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The RP wushu artists captured two gold, two silvers and three bronze medals but national coach Lester Pimentel said the team was not satisfied with the effort with the Olympics on the horizon.

“We did have much exposure before the SEA Games. When we came to Thailand, we were rusty. Now, we have learned from that and that is why we are preparing hard for the Olympics,” said Pimentel during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Shakey’s United Nations Avenue branch in Manila.

Willy Wang, a world, Asian and SEA Games champion, leads the cast of four vying for gold in Beijing. Joining him are Benjie Rivera, Mary Jane Estimar and Marianne Mariano.

Wang will be competing in the nanquan (form) event, while Rivera (56 kg), Estimar (52 kg) and Mariano (56 kg) will fight in the sanshou (combat) event.

The sport, though, will only be a special event in the Beijing Games, meaning it will not count in the medal tally. The event is called the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Wushu Tournament.

The wushu team has been training in China for five months and plunged into action in the Asian Wushu Championships were the Philippines wound up fourth.

Pimentel said the team has been competing in state tournaments in China. Wang is also training in Guangzhou, where the best players under renowned coaches are training.

All the wushu artists, Pimentel added, have a great chance of winning a gold medal although Wang needs to be impressive in his nanquan—which has three events.

“He needs to do well in three events but he has done it before. As for those who will be competing in the sanshou, there is also the luck of the draw,” said Pimentel, also the development committee chairman of the Wushu Federation of the Philippines.

Pimentel said China, Vietnam and Iran are their formidable foes in the Olympics.

Pacquiao first, future second

WHILE the camp of Manny Pacquiao continues to talk about other possible major fights in the near future, David Diaz prefers not to look ahead and, instead, focus on the task at hand.

Solar via unanimous decision

THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has a new home for the next three seasons.

The board of governors unanimously picked Solar Sports as the league’s new television coveror, commissioner Sonny Barrios announced Tuesday after their meeting at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City.

AFTER two failed bids, Red Bull try once more to clinch the elusive win No. 8 when it faces Air21 in their scheduled rematch this afternoon at the Araneta Coliseum.

THE cream of country’s athletics crop will have their hands full against foreign entries in the 2008 Milo National Open track and field championships which kicks off tomorrow at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

NOT even a credible performance by the Philippine wushu team in the 2007 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games will stop them from preparing doubly hard for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

NOT even a bum stomach could slow down Neriza Bautista’s superb performance.

The guest player scored a game-high 30 points in spite of a case of diarrhea as Adamson University dominated Ateneo, 25-7, 25-14, 23-25, 25-22, Tuesday in Game One of the best-of-three championship series of the Shakey’s V-League Season Five at The Arena in San Juan.

ASIAN Tour stalwart Artemio Murakami has earned his major debut after finishing as joint medalist in the US Open sectional qualifying in Japan on Monday.

My coorganizer in the Nike Elite Camp recently held in Laguna, Alex Compton, is one example on how to take school seriously.

Compton graduated from Ivy League school Cornell U, where he also played before playing in the Philippines.