GYMANSTICS Association of the Philippines (GAP) president Cynthia Carrion remains hopeful about the team’s chances to rake in gold medals even with Carlos Yulo limited to only a few events by rules set by organizers of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
Yulo will only be competing in four events – the individual all-around, team all-around, parallel bars, and horizontal bars – after Cambodia SEA Games organizers put a cap on the number of events an athlete can participate in.
Yulo won five of the Philippines’ seven gold medals in gymnastics in Hanoi last year, making him the most bemedalled athlete of that Games.
READ: President vows all-out support for PH sports
But Carrion said the Philippine gymnastics team is capable of capturing gold medals outside of Yulo, mentioning Juancho Miguel Besana as one of the top contenders.
Already a member of the team all-around that captured silver in Hanoi along with Yulo, Besana placed eighth in the World Cup Series in Cottbus, Germany last March.
“I’m sure Miguel is going to get the gold. He is good… He is now training really, really hard. He even stopped schooling. He wants to be another Caloy,” said Carrion.
“It’s good also for the team to be given a chance. They are very good,” said Carrion.
Carrion expects nothing but the gold for Yulo in his four events.

Aside from being the reigning SEA Games champion in the individual all-around and horizontal bars, Yulo won the Asian Championship in the parallel bars last year.
“The [events] of Caloy, I’m very, very sure,” said Carrion.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph