ITHURSDAY DECEMBER 5, 2019
Polo ma
postponed
again due
to wet field
ByTim Obligacion
CALATAGAN, Batangas-An
unplayable field has prompted
organrzers to
postpone two
Wednesday matches in the polo "
competitions of the 30th South-
east Asian (SEA) Games at the
Miguel Romero Polo'Field in Ca-
latagan, Batangas, for the second-
straighl day,
Competition manager Camila
Lasrila cited the decision by of-
fidials ftom the Fedexation Inter-
national Polo (FtP) to move the
start of the competitions instead
on Thursday after action was also
postponed on Tuesday.
"We determined the field to be
too wet this moruing (Wednes-
day) and unsafe ro play, basi-
cally," Lastrila said.
tt ,or\q,r - gg'/
"Now, the danger of havrng
a field that is Loo wet is that rhe
horses easily slip. When you
have a very fast game like polo
where the horses are running at
full speed, stopping on a dime,
twisting and turning or knocking
at each othet safety is of course
your number one priority as an
official," she added..
- Under the new schedule. ore-
liniinary matihes witl be held on
Thursday, Friday and Sunday with
lhe finals set on Monday.
Lastrila disclosed rhat the Ma-
laysian team has filed an appeal
for the. tournament to still end
on Sunday despite the pospone-
m€nts but organizers have not de-
cided on the rnarter,
However. PartyJisl. Congress-
maa and Team Philippines captain
Representative Mikee Romero said
such an appeal will not prosper, as .
he cited the intemaliopal federation,
ruling that polo toumanients can-
not hold thrce-straight playdates.
'Dinaanan tayo ng bagyo eh,"
Romero said. "Ang. problema, inu.
lan tayo ng l0 oras kaya nag-soak
ang lupa."