JAKARTA—Jordan Clarkson—to be clad in a silk Barong Tagalog hastily shipped from Manila and hoped to fit his 6-foot-5 frame—will carry the country’s colors in the traditional march of athletes during the opening ceremony that will kick off the 18th edition of the Asian Games Indonesia is hosting only for the second time on Saturday night at the 80,000-seat Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
Richard Gomez, the actor-sportsman turned mayor and Chief of Mission of the 272-athletes strong Team Philippines here—made sure all oversized Barong Tagalog tailored for the Filipino athletes for the opening ceremony, reach the sprawling Athletes’ Village for the most celebrated member of the delegation to try out on Friday.
“One of them should fit JC [Jordan Clarkson],” said Gomez with full confidence—at least one should because he himself stands above 6 feet.
The specifics for the opening ceremony program remained unavailable for the media and everyone else as of late Friday afternoon but what could be guaranteed by the Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee is a program that beats them all—especially for an edition of the quadrennial Games that gathered 11,500 athletes, about a thousand more than a regular Summer Olympics.
Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Ricky Vargas and Chairman Rep. Abraham Tolentino had to wait at least half a day before they land in Jakarta. Their flight on Friday morning—which included Team Philippines Press Attache Ed Picson—was bumped off by a Xiamen Airways Boeing plane that short of crash landed at the Naia.
But Vargas, who will be parading with a Team Philippines as head of the country’s top sports body, wished all Filipinos good luck in what could be another struggle to surpass the lone gold medal BMX cycling’s Daniel Caluag won in Incheon four years ago.
“It is a privilege and a distinct honor to proudly march together with our Filipino athletes on the opening night parade of the 18th Asian Games,” said Vargas, who will be welcomed here by his secretary-general, Patrick Gregorio. “This is an experience I will forever cherish.”
Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez, who flew in on Thursday afternoon and was accorded with appropriate welcome exercises also at the Athletes’ Village, also boosted the Filipino athletes’ morale.
“Go and fight for flag and country,” Ramirez said.
And speaking of morale, Clarkson and the men’s national basketball team composed of the core of Rain or Shine would need many of that as they wait four days before facing off with powerhouse China to end the group stage.
A day after demolishing Kazakhstan, 96-59, on Thursday to secure a slot in the knockout quarterfinals, the Filipino dribblers of Coach Yeng Guiao had to make do with a 50-minute—yes, not even one hour—of practice session on Friday.
“Our only problem is the regular practice is arranged by the organizers, nakaka-practice namin si [Clarkson], 50 minutes lang,” Guiao said.
Good thing Clarkson picked up Guiao’s plays fast.
“High IQ talaga, he caught on the plays 35-40 minutes, picked them up really fast. We did not have to prolong practice because everybody’s tired. We just came from the game and he came from a 17-hour flight. Then, pahinga siya sandali, then pumunta ng practice. On Friday we will practice again and we will run the plays for him. We hope that by the China game, they become natural, automatic, our cohesiveness with him,” Guiao added.
The main hub of competition will be at the Gelora Bung Karno or GBK—that fabled stadium formerly called Senayan where many a Southeast Asian Games and other regional competitions were staged.
This may be the Olympics of Asia, but with so much diversity and uniqueness—something an Associated Press report noted.
For one, there are sports that make one go to Google to find out what they are—the Indian sport of kabaddi; kurash, a traditional martial art from Uzbekistan; and pencak silat, an Indonesian martial art.
Esports will also be a demonstration sport that will join jet ski on the program.
Put in sports climbing and skateboarding—events on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics program—as well as, brace yourself, contract bridge where age—the oldest here is 81—doesn’t really matter.