ONLY the best will be sent to the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos.

Representatives of 23 of 25 national sports associations sending athletes to the biennial meet were informed of the tough criteria set by the Philippine Olympic Committee.

In sending the best to the games, Chef de Mission Gen. Mario Tanchanco said that the gold- and silver-medal winners in the games and the participants of the 2008 Beijing Olympics are almost a cinch for the team that will be sent to Vientiane.

“These are the guidelines which have been set. Now, we are waiting for feedback from the NSAs,” said Tanchanco following Thursday’s meeting at the Philsports Complex in Pasig City.

There will be 390 events and 25 sports disciplines to be played, namely, athletics, archery, swimming, badminton, billiards and snooker, boxing, cycling, football, golf, judo, karate, sepak takraw, shooting, soft tennis, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, wrestling, weightlifting, wushu, muaythai, petanque, pencak silat, shuttlecock and fin swimming.

Tanchanco, who heads sepak takraw, also said that athletes who have made it to the top eight rankings in the continental and world championships can also go to the games, along with those who have met the measureable standards set in athletics, archery and swimming. Peter Atencio