YANQING, China. – Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino met face-to-face with alpine skier Asa Miller on Wednesday and encouraged the country’s lone representative in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to give it his best shot.
Miller, 21, is ranged against a world-class field but Tolentino did not rule out the possibility the Fil-Am skier could pull off an improbable task and join the ranks of Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz and others.
“Remember what I gave our Olympic medalists–the gold, the silver and the bronze? I gave them a house and lot each in Tagaytay. Get one,” Tolentino told Miller during a meeting among the members of Team Philippines at the National Alpine Skiing Centre atop Xiaohaituo Mountain.
“The gold medalist (Diaz) got more than a million dollars,” said Tolentino, the first POC president in memory to attend the Winter Olympics since the country started qualifying athletes to the Games in Sapporo, Japan, in 1972.
The Portland (Oregon)-based Miller humbly responded to Tolentino’s challenge.
“I’ll do my best … there are lots of best skiers out there. It takes time, I have to build and take the process,” said Miller, who thanked Tolentino and the POC and the Philippine Sports Commission for supporting his campaign.
POC chief legal counsel Billy Sumagui accompanied Tolentino in the trip to the Winter Olympics. The duo was then joined by Chef de Mission Bones Floro, Athletes Welfare Officer Joebert Yu and Philippine Snowboarding and Ski Federation President Jim Apelar in meeting Miller.
The Winter Olympics start this Friday with Miller hitting the slopes for the men’s giant slalom on February 13 and the slalom three days later.
