RP barely misses judo title

It was like a television series that you have closely followed finishing in a manner that you least expected.

The Philippines' campaign in the 23rd SEA Games judo competition ended on a disappointing note late yesterday afternoon as Ruth Dugaduga barely missed the gold medal that could have vaulted the host country to the overall championship at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex.

Dugaduga lost to Thailand's Patcharee Pichaipat in the -78 kgs. division - a verdict that was greeted by howls of disapproval from the disgruntled hometown crowd. The Filipina was slapped a shido (1/8 point penalty), which gave her opponent the minimal margin needed to win.

Dugaduga and Patcharee both did not score in the five-minute regulation period. But before the 'golden score' extension where the player who makes the first score wins, Dugaduga was penalized for not attacking during the regulation period, thus, the Thai was declared the victor.

"Binigyan nang penalty si Ruth for not attacking daw. Eh hindi na dapat sana dahil wala nang oras eh. Extension period na yun," said a displeased RP Team coach Anecia Pedroso.

"Siyempre malungkot pero yun ang decision nila,wala akong magawa," said the Davao City-native Dugaduga in graciously accepting defeat.

Dugaduga's setback relegated the Philippines to third place with four golds, two silvers, and six bronzes. The gold medal producers for RP were Helen Dawa (-45 kgs.), John Baylon (-81 kgs.), Gilbert Ramirez (-73 kgs.), and Karen Ann Solomon (-66 kgs.).

Had Dugaduga won, RP could have emerged as the overall champion and Thailand third.

With Patcharee's triumph, Thailand dominated the four-day judo action with four golds, five silvers, and six bronzes, while Vietnam settled for second place with four golds, two silvers, and eight bronzes. Indonesia wound up fourth with a 3-4-4 g-s-b haul.

Dugaduga barreled her way to the championship round after a winding throw that earned her a waza-ari (half-point) resulted to a serious injury over Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Anh Ngoc with just 47 seconds consumed in the five-minute battle. The Filipina dropped the Vietnamese to the tatami (mats). The Vietnamese tried to twist herself out of trouble before falling, but in the process, landed headfirst resulting to the injury.

The medical team rushed to the aid of Nguyen and brought her to Chong Hua Hospital. Reynaldo Jaylo, president of the Philippine Amateur Judo Association (PAJA) Inc. relayed to officials at the VIP section more than an hour after the incident that the Vietnamese player had moved and vomited. She was scheduled for a MRI to check the extent of her injury.

"There are only two things that might have happened to her. It's either she suffered a serious spinal cord injury or hopefully just an injury due to stress," said Dr. Desiree Gahi, a member of the medical staff assigned in judo event.

On the other hand, Franco Teves and Daniel Pedro donated bronze medals for RP.

Teves of Zamboanga defeated Olot Sasengboun of Laos using a sturdy arm lock technique for an outright ippon at the 1:41 mark that earned him a bronze in the -55 kgs. category.

Pedro, who bowed down to Indonesia's Edly Gan in the first round, gallantly fought back from a waza-ari (half point) down by slamming Myanmar's Saw Maing San flat on the mat to steal the win with an ippon with 23 seconds left in the match.

Though failing to clinch the overall championship, it was already a significant improvement for the Filipino judokas, who just placed fourth in the 2003 Vietnam SEA Games with three golds, four silver, and four bronzes.