MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine athletics team is no longer hesitant to compete at the highest level of international competition. With the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) ramping up its investment in development programs, the national team is poised to become highly competitive in the Asian arena and a consistent qualifier in future world championships. The optimism follows a strong campaign at the recently concluded 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where Ernest John "EJ" Obiena successfully retained his title plus a record-breaking feat and the team added two more bronze medals. Building on that momentum, PATAFA is now setting its sights on more victories at next year's Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia and on qualifying more athletes for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. "We are no longer skeptical to compete at a high level because we have already gained confidence in our capabilities," PATAFA President Terry Capistrano said. "The future is getting brighter. We already have a number of potential stars, and some of them have already stepped up to the challenge." Obiena, one of the country's most decorated athletes, secured back-to-back Asian Games gold medals in the men's pole vault after shattering the Asiad record with a clearance of 5.91 meters. Newcomer Victoria Bossong impressed in her Asian Games debut by clinching bronze in the women's 800 meters, while John Cabang Tolentino added another bronze in the men's 110m hurdles. Their combined effort helped the Philippines surpass its medal output from the Hangzhou Asian Games three years ago, where the country settled for a single gold. The future appears even brighter with a new wave of young talents emerging. Among them are Naomi Cesar, the 800m gold medalist at the 2025 Bangkok SEA Games, fellow SEA Games champion Hussein Lorana, and Pi Durden Wangkay, who topped the 200m at the Asian Youth Games. All are expected to be strong medal prospects in the coming years. "Satisfied? No, not quite. While this is the best showing since 1982, we really think we could have done better. We're hoping to see improvement in every competition," Capistrano said. "Next year will mark the start of Olympic qualifying and the SEA Games. I'm confident Bossong will be formidable there," he added. Capistrano also expressed gratitude to the ICTSI Foundation and Bloomberry for their unwavering support for the athletes and for PATAFA's grassroots and elite development programs. TMT