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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo tourney a huge boost to local tourism, says Gregorio

11th Asia-Oceania Sambo tourney a huge boost to local tourism, says Gregorio

Published Jun 4, 2026 01:25 pm

At A Glance

  • Local sports tourism gets another big shot in the arm when the 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships presented by the Philippine Sports Commission under the NST-IAC comes off the wraps on June 23 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Local sports tourism gets another big shot in the arm when the 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships presented by the Philippine Sports Commission under the NST-IAC comes off the wraps on June 23 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
"We had expected only about 500 athletes but those numbers are swelling since we presently have about 400 of them already. We could end up with over 600 grapplers from 31 countries," said Pilipinas Sambo Federation president Paolo Tacontian at the recent Philippine Sportswriters Association forum.
Tacontian said that regional neighbor Cambodia, with its thriving sambo community, is fielding a 42-member squad that will seek to make its influence felt in the five-day meet sanctioned by the International Sambo Federation (FIAS).
"These numbers may seem small for team sports, but for sambo that is a lot of entries."
He disclosed that even distant Asian countries Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, Iran and Syria, plus Oceania nations Australia and New Zealand were keenly interested in joining the blue-ribbon sambo tournament.
Tancontian added that were it not for the tensions in the Middle East "we had looked forward to all 36 countries of the Sambo Union of Asia and Oceania to send teams. If we get 31 nations, I would be very happy."
PSC chairman Patrick "Pato" Gregorio said this positive and encouraging development was another sign that the government sports agency's advocacy in supporting sports tourism was a worthwhile economic endeavor.
"Hosting a well-organized international competition like the forthcoming 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships is always a welcome enterprise that generates income for both the government and the tourism industry," Gregorio noted.
"Sports events like these are win-win situations for all: the foreign visitors, fans, and the various stakeholders involved in staging them."
The PSC chief said that Administrative Order No. 38 signed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. last October creating the National Sports Tourism Inter-Agency Committee (NST-IAC) has been a huge boon on this score.
"With each staging of an international meet in our country, the NST-IAC has provided the proper guidance and framework so that these sports and tourism showcases can really shine and leave long lasting memories," Gregorio, who also heads the group, stressed.
Integral to these, of course, he said, "was exposing our visitors to our world-renowned Filipino hospitality that is unmatched anywhere."
"The overall template and formula in staging successful international tournaments locally is now there, and we continue to adjust and tweak it so that successive ones can be better than before," he said.
"The coordination and cooperation among government agencies, the National Sports Associations and the private sector involved in these projects is more integrated, efficient and cohesive," Gregorio pointed out.
"We are bringing all of these knowledge, experiences and outputs to ensure that the country's staging of the 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships will be another huge success in all areas," he said.

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11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships Philippine Sports Commission NST-IAC Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
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