MANILA - The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has so far summed 656 athletes who will do battle in the 31st Southeast Asian Games that are due in under two and a half months in Hanoi, Vietnam. POC President Rep. Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino said majority of the 39 national sports associations which are fielding athletes to Vietnam have submitted tentative rosters for the May 12 to 25 Games. The Philippines is competing in 39 of the 40 sports programmed by Vietnam for its only second hosting of the Games since 2003. In these 39 sports, the country is participating in 44 disciplines, according to Tolentino. "Comparing the numbers when we hosted the Games in 2019, we'll have a delegation that's slashed almost in half from three years ago," Tolentino said in a news release on Monday. "And a quick look at the numbers show we'll be hard-pressed to repeat as overall champions." There were 1,115 Filipino athletes in 2019-an automatic privilege that hos