RP adds 2 bronzes; cagers rip Kuwaitis

BALI, Indonesia – The Philippines pocketed two more bronze medals Friday but remained at 14th spot in the medal standings of the first Asian Beach Games here.

Surfing produced another bronze courtesy of the mixed team while the women’s regu team lost to 2006 Doha Asian Games medalist China in the semifinals in sepak takraw.

In men’s basketball, RP team composed of Joel Tolentino, Tata Mata, Papot Paredes and Arthur dela Cruz downed Kuwait, 33-22, for its first win in Group B preliminaries at the Tanjung Benoa beach. Tolentino paced the team with 13.

The team of Luke Richard Thomas Landrigan, Carlito Nogalo, Dionesio Espejon and Nildie Rietenbach scored six points after three rounds to settle for the bronze in the mixed team surfing competition at the Kuta beach.

Host Indonesia, led by gold medalists Dede Suryana (aerial) and I Made Widiarta (short board), topped the event with 12 points while Japan, bannered by aerial silver medalist Yuichi Kurogi, posted nine points to win the silver.

“We’re happy with our performances. We go home all with medals. We hope that the government will take notice that Filipino surfers can make a mark in the world stage,” said the La Union-based Landrigan, who won the men’s long board silver last Monday.

Aside from Landrigan’s silver and the mixed team’s bronze, the Billabong-sponsored team also got two more bronzes from Nogalo (men’s short board) and three-time national champion Marianita Alcala (women’s short board).

“We would like to thank Dr. George Canlas for trusting us to represent the country. With our medals, we hope to inspire the young ones to take up surfing and bring honor to the country in future international tournaments, ” said Landrigan, who belongs to a family of surfers.

Over at Inna Grand Bali Hotel beach, the Philippines absorbed a 20-21 loss to China in the women’s regu team semifinals. The victory set China to the championship round against Indonesia, which scored a 21-17 win over Thailand.

In wrestling, Jason Balabal bowed to Sherali Bozorov of Taijikistan, 0-3, in the men’s 85kg while Michael Natividad fell to Kota Horaguchi of Japan, 0-3, in the men’s 65kg round of 16.