Romero eyes baseball gold for PHL in '11 SEAG

To bring home the baseball gold medal in the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia is what businessman/sportsman Mikee Romero wants to accomplish for Team Philippines in 2011. Romero, if given a chance to help fund and form the Philippine baseball team, said the Manila Sharks’ successful title defense in the recently concluded Baseball Philippines Series VII showed that the country can send a competitive squad that can reclaim the gold it last won in 2005. "The only thing I can assure is that we will already have one (SEA Games) gold medal in our pockets if we are going to send the Manila Sharks," said Romero. The Harbour Centre-backed Sharks completed a two-game sweep of the Batangas Bulls in the short best-of-three title series over the weekend to become the first team to win back-to-back crowns in the league. Romero said he hopes to present his case to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose “Peping" Cojuangco, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Ritchie Garcia and PSC commissioner Chito Loyzaga, and the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA). "I think this is the right opportunity for us to offer our services and handle the national team," said Romero, who also financed the campaign of the men’s basketball team to the 2007 SEA Games in Nakhonratchasima, Thailand which retained the gold. "Now with regards to the leadership dispute in PABA, we want to shy away from that. We’re not partisan, we’re just here to help the national team." The country won the baseball gold when it hosted the SEA Games here in 2005, but failed to retain the title in Thailand two years later. If the plan pushes through, Romero said tryouts will be held by January and February to reinforce the Sharks team that will comprise the national roster. The team will then compete in tournaments in Korea and Japan as part of their training. Also part of the team’s objective is to further enhance the country’s rankings in both the Asian and world levels, where the Filipinos are currently sixth in and 19th, respectively. – JVP, KY, GMANews.TV