Sepak takraw president Mario Tanchangco has been chosen as the country’s Chef de Mission for the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos this December, a Philippine News Agency report said Wednesday.

Philippine Olympic Committee chief Jose Cojuangco Jr. said Tanchangco’s appointment will be formally announced and ratified during a POC executive council meeting Wednesday.

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has allotted P30 million for the preparation and participation of the Filipino athletes in the Laos SEA Games.

The Laos SEA Games organizing committee has agreed to host 25 sports disciplines but other countries including the Philippines have been lobbying for more including basketball.

The calendared sports include billiards and snooker, athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, football, golf, judo, karate, sepak takraw, shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball, wrestling, wushu, taekwondo, muay, petangue, pencak silat, fin swimming, shuttlecock, dragon boat, archery and cycling.

Athletics president Go Teng Kok, special representative of the Philippines to the SEA Games meeting, is optimistic that basketball will be included in the tournament.

The Philippines won the SEA Games overall championship for the first time when it hosted the event in 2005.