Chester Rabanal and Christian Pepito are taking on a new challenge as they make their international debut in para powerlifting at the 2025 Asian Youth Para Games in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Both athletes previously represented the Philippines in wheelchair basketball, making the transition to an individual sport both challenging and exciting.

Rabanal, competing in the rookie 65kg category, admitted to feeling “excited and nervous” as he adjusts from team-based play to an individual sport. He said his background in strength conditioning helped ease the transition. Pepito, competing in the next-gen up 80kg, shared a similar mindset, focusing on training and embracing the nerves that come with competition.

Shifting from team to individual competition

With the 5×5 wheelchair basketball event replaced by 3×3, Team Philippines is reallocating young talent like Rabanal and Pepito to other sports. The PH 3×3 wheelchair basketball team maintains nearly the same lineup from the 5×5 squad, which finished sixth in the previous edition in Manama, Bahrain in 2021.

Veteran Edgardo Ochaves highlighted the team’s chemistry as their advantage heading into the games. “With this being my second time to compete here, I’m not going to waste this opportunity. Our goal is to win the gold medal,” he said in Filipino.

Podium ambitions and overall team goals

Rabanal and Pepito aim to secure podium finishes not just for themselves, but also for the Philippine delegation. “We want to prove that we can also deliver medals like our national athlete counterparts,” Pepito said.

The 48-athlete Philippine team, supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Paralympic Committee, is competing in goalball, wheelchair basketball 3×3, para swimming, para badminton, boccia, and para powerlifting. The delegation hopes to match or surpass its previous medal haul of one gold, six silver, and two bronze. Around 1,500 para athletes from 35 countries are taking part in 11 para sports.