The Philippines is set to form another fighting team that will once again challenge mighty Singapore in 30th Southeast Asian Games squash tournament.
Robert Bachmann, president of the Squash Rackets Association of the Philippines, said they hope to do so with the presence of Princeton University standout and Filipino-American Cody Cortes.
The 22-year-old Cortes is part of the Princeton Tigers’ squad that placed eighth in the US Collegiate Squash Association tournament this year for the school’s best finish in six years.
Cortes is a student of English Literature and East Asian Languages and is from Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Bachmann said Cortes can make it to the national team if he gets his Philippine passport approved in time.
“He has not played for the national team before. And he has joined some competitions there,” said Bachmann.
Cortes distinguished himself in the 4-5 positions of the team when he had a key victory in 2018 that helped Princeton beat its highest-ranked opponent since 2013.
Two years ago, the Philippines bagged a silver medal in the men’s division after losing to Singapore, 1-2, in the men’s team finals.
At that time, the title-hungry Singaporeans saw action against Filipino standouts Reymark Begornia and David Pelino in the best-of-3 finale.
The Pinoy racket-wielders turned to the heroics of veteran Robert Garcia, who fashioned out a gripping 11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 win over Ben Chan in a match that lasted for nearly an hour, paving the way for a winner-take-all rubber match.