MANILA -- He did not offer a projection but Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Dickie Bachmann is hopeful that national athletes will have a strong performance in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May.

The Philippines is sending 905 athletes to the biennial event that is set from May 5 to 17, along with 257 officials. Filipino athletes are expected to compete in all the sports that are in Cambodia's program.

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"I don't want to project," Bachmann said during Tuesday's Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. "[We] are just trying to take care of the athletes, with their allowances, with their food."

"For projection, if I go the Alaska way, it's always 'good enough never is.' [We want to] always improve," added the official, a former team governor of the now-defunct Alaska franchise in the PBA. "So if we were fourth place last year, then hopefully we can improve this year."

In the delayed 2021 SEA Games held in Hanoi, Vietnam last year, the Philippines finished with 52 gold medals, 70 silvers, and 104 bronzes for fourth place. The country sent 656 athletes who competed in 38 sports in Hanoi.

Filipino athletes dominated the 2019 SEA Games held in Manila, winning 149 gold medals.

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Bachmann is optimistic of the country's chances in Phnom Penh, based on what he has seen from the athletes' training sessions. He also noted that a handful of athletes and teams have been preparing and competing abroad.

"They've been winning," he said. "So hopefully, that will carry over, all the way to the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia."

"A lot of athletes also left for training, like volleyball left for Japan, and they will go straight to Cambodia. So hopefully they get the confidence, and perform well in the Southeast Asian Games," he added.

Bachmann and the four commissioners of the PSC will be on hand in Phnom Penh to assist the athletes.

There will be a send-off party for Team Philippines on April 24 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

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