Malacañang lauded on Sunday Filipino boxer Mark Anthony Barriga for his "valiant" bid for an Olympic medal and remained hopeful that the remaining Filipino athletes in London would do well in their respective categories.
Deputy Palace Spokesperson Abigail Valte made the remarks in an interview with state-run radio program, when asked about the narrow defeat of Barriga to Kazakh boxer Bishan Zhakypov.
"On the loss of Mr. Barriga, he fought valiantly... Even if he did not advance, he fought valiantly, the same with all our other athletes," Valte said.
She noted that there were still three remaining Filipino athletes vying for a medal in the London Olympics.
They are Marestella Torres in the long jump competition, Rene Herrera in the 5,000-meter race, and Daniel Caluag in cycling.
"Everybody is still hoping for something out of our Filipino contingent. And we, of course, until now we still wish them luck. We still wish them well," Valte said.
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Broadcast schedule of Filipino athletes competing in the Olympics:
Marestella Torres (Long Jump)
August 7, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on AKTV
Rene Herrera (5,000m Race)
August 8, 2 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. on AKTV and Aksyon TV
Daniel Caluag (Cycling/BMX)
August 8, 11 p.m. to August 9, 1 a.m. on AKTV and August 9, 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Hyper
