Clay shooters bag two golds; Tac snares silver

Filipino shooters hit their mark yesterday, bagging two gold medals and a silver as the Philippines bounced back with a vengeance in Day 5 of the shooting competitions held in Taguig and Muntinlupa.

Paul Brian Rosario caught fire for the Nationals, shooting down a gold in the men’s individual skeet before teaming up with Darius Alexis Hizon and Patricio Bernardo to win the men’s team skeet at the Philippine National Shooting Association Shooting Range in Muntinlupa

A SEAG returnee, Rosario improved on his silver medal finish in Vietnam two years ago by beating Malaysians Cheo Ng Yew and Teh Chee Fei who settled for silver and bronze, respectively. The national team mainstay then won his second gold, leading the men’s skeet team to a victory.

The trio of Rosario, Hizon and Bernardo scored 337 points to bag the gold, topping the Malaysian trio of Cheong , Teh and Amran Risman (333) and the Thai team of Krisada Varadharmapinich, Jiranunt Hathaichukiat and Pongstorn Bholganist (329).

Over at the Fort Bonifacio Shooting Range, veteran gunner Nathaniel "Tac" Padilla also regained his touch, bagging silver in the 25M rapid fire to make up for his sub-par performance on Thursday.

A four-time SEA Games gold medalist, Padilla engaged eventual champion and perennial favorite Hasli Izwan Amir Hasan in a riveting duel as the two veteran shooters pulled away from the field early before going toe-to-toe in the finals. The Malaysian eventually came out on top, barely beating the game Padilla, 756.7-754.6, to bag the gold.

Bronze went to Thai Jakkrit Panichpatikum (758.9).

Down by four entering the finals, the Filipino bet momentarily took the lead after a blistering second series, outgunning Hasli, 49.4-45.0. Padilla, however, failed to sustain his momentum, misfiring in the third series to finish with 46.6 points against the Malaysian’s 50.2. This proved to be the turning point as the Spring Cooking Oil manager failed to overcome Hasli’s two-point lead in the last series.

After the event, Padilla conceded that coming back from an early deficit took its toll on him.

"It’s hard to come back with all this pressure," admitted the veteran as he shook hands with fans while his daughter, Patricia proudly looked on.

Tac’s father, Tom Ong, also dropped by to support his son, and rued the distraction caused by fans cheering for Tac after the announcement of the Filipino shooter’s scores. According to Ong, the applause adversely affected Padilla by adding pressure to the already tensed national team gunner.

"It’s different in shooting because when you cheer or clap for the shooter, it adds pressure on him," said Padilla’s father in Filipino. He, however, was satisfied with his son’s silver finish and is looking forward to today’s 25M center fire event where Tac is scheduled to compete again for the Philippines.

The 40-year old Padilla again vowed to give his best today, as he shoots for his fifth SEAG gold medal against nearly the same rivals, including Hasli and Panichpatikum.

The three sharpshooters are expected to clash again today at the 25M center fire where they remain the favorites to finish at the top three.

Meanwhile, promising shooter Frances Nicolle Medina fell a point shy of bagging a medal in the women’s 50M rifle prone, losing the bronze to Thai rival Supamas Wankaew, 584-583, in a nail biting finish. Malaysian Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi edged Thailand’s Paramapon Ponglaokham in a shoot off to claim the gold while Ponglaokham settled for silver. Josie Estadilla, also of the Philippines finished eighth among 11 shooters with 577 points.

The Philippine shooting team improved on its four-medal haul in Vietnam two years ago with still three days remaining. The team, with three golds, three silvers and one bronze, is currently at fourth, behind Thailand (6-4-4) Vietnam (3-3-2) and Malaysia (4-2-1) and is on track for a top three finish. — Martin Dale Bolima/Karlo Pineda