Pinoy fencers shine in SEA meet

MANILA, Philippines — From the juniors to the cadet ranks, young Filipino fencers have stepped up to the ‘piste’ and proved they have the winning pedigree to fight for flag and country against the best in the region.

A combined total of five gold medals with seven silvers and 13 bronzes were pocketed by Team Philippines in the Southeast Asian Fencing Federation (SEAFF) Junior and Cadet championship held at the Arena TSH OCM in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Oscar del Castillo led the charge for the Nationals as he earned a silver medal in the 21-and-under junior men’s epee individual, and later bagged the gold medal in the 17-and-under cadet men’s epee.

The 16-year-old Del Castillo lost to Singapore’s Benjamin Lee 15-11 in the finals of junior men’s epee last Monday, but rebounded with a convincing 15-8 win against Do Dang Khoi of Vietnam in cadet men’s last Friday.

Willa Galvez, on the other hand, earned a bronze medal in junior women’s foil individual, while in cadet Hagia del Castillo settled with a silver, with Victoria Ebdane and Yuna Canlas taking bronze medal each in women’s foil individual.

Galvez, whose competition abroad is supported by Nickel Asia Corp., with backing from Converge, NLEX Corp., Rain or Shine, MVP Sports Foundation, Strong Group Athletics, Pocari Sweat and Icons Sports Management Services, won against Singapore’s Sita Naidu Maaravis, 15-14, in the quarterfinals.