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Source: Rey Bancod, mb.com.ph

-- For the national water polo team, there is more at stake than winning the first gold medal in the 25th Southeast Asian Games.

The Filipinos, who came close to ending Singapore’s iron grip of the sport two years ago in Thailand, are fighting for recognition at home where basketball gets the lion’s share of attention and corporate sponsorship.

The Philippines dumped Thailand, 6-4, for a big start in the water polo competitions last Saturday.

The Filipinos will duel Singapore, the perennial water polo champion, this Sunday.

Apart from the issues of money and popularity, the sport is saddled with the lack of facilities.

There are only two pools that cater to water polo – one, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and the other at the TRACE Center in Los Baños, site of the 2005 SEA Games.

While there are a number of 50-meter pools scattered in the country, they can only be used for water polo if they have a minimum depth of seven feet.

Louie Mangahis, chairman of the water polo committee, is hoping that a successful run in the next three days would change the sport’s fortune.

“It is hard to convince potential sponsors because they would always ask who watch water polo?” Mangahis rued. “We cannot compete with basketball.”

A victory over Singapore, a team that has gone undefeated since water polo was introduced in 1981, would boost the stature of the sport at home and reel in potential sponsors,

The gap between Singapore and the rest of the field has been narrowing through the years.

For two consecutive Games, the Filipinos lost to Singapore by a mere goal.

“Two years ago, we were up by two goals with two minutes left but we could not hang on,” said Dale Evangelista, who at 32 is making his fifth straight Games appearance.

This year, the Filipinos also lost to Singapore by same margin in two separate tournaments.

“It’s going to be just a matter of time before we beat them,” said Evangelista.

Still, Singapore takes its role seriously as the region’s kingpin in water polo. This year alone, it spent P14 million to prepare its squad compared to RP’s budget of less than a million, according to Mangahis.

For years, Mangahis said they have been working for the inclusion of water polo in the collegiate calendar to widen the pool of talents. He has been unsuccessful so far.

What they managed to do was organize two-day meets among college teams.

Mangahis rued the lost opportunity this year to organize the Asian interclub championship at home due to lack of resources.

Why it is hard to new recruits in water polo is understandable.

It is a tough and demanding sport. It requires players to stay afloat for hours using both legs, catch and throw the ball with one hand. The goalkeeper, the only player that can hold the ball with both hands, needs to elevate himself from the water to protect the floating goal.

If you think that these are hard enough, wait till you hear what’s going on underneath the water.

“Anything can happen away from the referees’ eyes. You can be pulled down into the water, hit on the crotch and find someone’s foot inside your trunk to prevent you from swimming.

This is a contact sport,” said Mangahis.

In Thailand, a fight broke out during the match between Indonesia and the home that led to one player with a broken jaw.

Speed is also a factor, making the sport in need of national swimmers looking for a new career.

Mangahis said he would like to see Miguel Molina, the country’s current champion swimmer, playing water polo in the future.

“It would be fantastic to have Miguel in the team. He’s fast and powerful,” he said.