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Prayers for RP Team to Beijing
Source : Staff   
Saturday, 02 August 2008 06:19

When all is said and done, the Team Philippines' training and sheer determination alone will not be enough to arm members in their quest for that elusive gold in the two-week Beijing Olympics that starts August 8. They need prayers.

At least that’s how Philippine Olympic Committee chief Jose “Peping” Cojuangco put it as he led the athletes in their fifth Friday Mass at the Philsports Complex in Pasig City as officials and sports personalities gathered the Olympians for a final pep talk in their quest for the country's first gold medal.

“This is our fifth Friday Mass… the most ever. I can almost feel it. Whatever we’re asking for in these first Friday Masses, will somehow be answered. That’s the way that it goes. It might not be the exact thing that we want, but we’ll be sure that it will be answered,” said Cojuangco.

The Mass was attended by various sports leaders and government officials, including Philippine chef de mission Monico Puentavella, International Olympic Committee representative Frank Elizalde and Philippine Sports Commission commissioner Ricardo Garcia.

Also present were sports personalities Mikee Cojuangco and Akiko Thomson.

Team Philippines members who attended the Mass were taekwondo jins Maritoni Rivero and Thsomlee Go, long jumpers Marestella Torres and Henry Dagmil, swimmers JB Walsh, Miguel Molina, Ryan Arabejo and Cristel Simms, divers Shiela Mae Perez and Rexel Fabrega and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz.

Cojuangco said the celebration of first Friday Masses has already become a tradition to boost athletes' chances in any major sporting event.

“For the [2005] Southeast Asian games, we went to three first Friday masses… and [as a] result, we won the over-all championship,” he said.

Cojuangco said they did the same for the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, which resulted to “the best performance the of the Philippines in the last 40 years.”

“The last one, the [2007] Southeast Asian games, we only went to two Friday Masses. The result… we won a lot of gold medals but somehow we didn’t make enough gold medals,” he said.
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