RP arnis bets show form in anyo

The fancied arnis team snared two gold medals but found a surprisingly tough opposition in Team Vietnam which scored upset wins over top Filipino bets in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games at the Emilio Aguinaldo College Gym yesterday.

The trio of Peter Kelvin Celis, Glen Llamador and Nathan Ben Rodriguez scored 98.2 points to top the men’s team anyo event followed by Vietnam (97.3) and Cambodia (80.7). The women’s team of Rochelle Quirol, Aireen Parong and Catherine Ballenas also struck gold in the women’s side with 98.1 points, while Vietnam, the only other participant in the event, was second with 97.5.

Head coach Rufino Montalbo said he did not expect Vietnam to improve in such a short time and beat the Philippines at their own game. The Philippine squad defeated Vietnam last August in the first RP-Vietnam dual meet last August.

"This is the same squad we beat but it looks like they also had a very intensive training because they have improved a lot," said Montalbo.

Montalbo said he understands the predicament they are in but will still try their best to meet their goal.

The Filipino bets in the individual anyo, however, were not as fortunate as they suffered heartbreaking losses against their competitors.

Regie Sanchez and Mylen Garson settled for silvers with 95.6 and 93.3, respectively, against Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Tung (96.4) and Nguyen Thi My (97.1).

Sanchez, a six-time kali arnis world champion, was almost inconsolable after the loss, even planning to file a protest against the judges’ decision, saying that Tung, who is competing for the first time internationally, should have been penalized for presenting almost identical routines during the two sets of performance.

"Even if they review the tape, they will see that the first and second routines are almost identical. Under the rules, that has a corresponding penalty," Sanchez said.

Montalbo, however, prevented any escalation of the situation as he conceded that Tung’s performance was better than Sanchez. Under tournament rules, only coaches can protest the decision of judges.

On the other hand, Garson had better score than her Vietnamese rival but had a violation, stepping out of the line. — Don Gil Carreon