Pinoy books trip to LA XGames

START KUALA LUMPUR — Anselm Castañeda gave the Philippines its second medal by capturing the bronze in the skate-park final of the sixth ESPN’s Asian X Games Saturday night at the Putra Indoor Stadium here.

The win earned him a trip to the Summer XGames when it returns to Los Angeles in August.

Considered an icon by his peers in Manila, Castañeda could have taken the gold medal had he completed a difficult attempt on the railing. But his first run impressed the judges nonetheless, who gave him a 79.

"He could’ve easily won," said judge Jason Rothmeyer of the United States. "But falls take away a lot from your score. There’s no doubt though that [Castaneda] is a soundly technical and very skilled skateboarder."

Johatry Khairuddin of Malaysia actually tied Castañeda for second after the Malaysian also scored a 79 in his second run. But Khairrudin, who notched a 74.3 in his first run, had the advantage in the tie-break over Castaneda, who only managed a 66 in his other run.

Even Mariss Khan, chairman of the skateboarding body in Malaysia, praised the Cubao-based boarder.

"I met him in Jakarta and I’ve always known him to be a very good skateboarder," said Khan, who was one of the judges in these games presented by ESPN Star Sports and Toyota. "I like his skills and I knew that he would be a threat."

"I’m happy to get this [bronze] but there’s this thing at the back of my head that goes, I could’ve gotten the silver," said Castañeda, who won US$1,500 and an invitation to the Summer XGames in Los Angeles this year.

Ahmad Fadzil of Malaysia, who bested the 10-man field with an 80, made it a 1-2 finish for the hometown crowd. The same trio also finished in the top three when Castañeda won the bronze in the Thailand edition of these games in 2001.

"This is such a great feeling," said RP team manager Mark Schultz, whose skateboarding squad vindicated itself after a medal shutout last year in this bustling Malaysian capital. "I’ve always believed that Anselm could do it especially since walang mga Australians this year."

"Yun nga lang, nakakapanghinayang [dahil kuha na sana yung silver] pero we’re very satisfied."

Early last week Anjou Mauricio topped the best trick category in the 14-and-under Junior XGames.