Sheila gets only silver for 24th b-day

VIENTIANE – A silver was all diving queen Sheila Mae Perez had for her 24th birthday.

The two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist fell from her pedestal yesterday as she yielded the gold to a less-deserving opponent in the women’s 3m springboard competition at the National Sports Complex.

“I was disappointed with the judging, I cried bitterly because I felt I wasn’t given a fair score,” said Perez, referring to some questionable judging that cost her a third straight SEA Games gold.

Perez lost to Vietnam’s Thanh Tra Hoang by mere four points.

RP officials insist their finishes should have been reversed. Philippine aquatics sports chief Mark Joseph promptly filed a protest to meet officials.

“It’s going to be a very challenging experience, the judging here,” said PASA technical committee member Anne Dimanche, who specifically cited the judges from Malaysia and Vietnam.

“In Sheila’s first dive she had a late entry so it’s okay if she had a low score,” related Dimanche in Filipino. “But in her last dive she had a perfect entry while her rival had a lot of splashes yet Sheila was given a 5.5 while the Vietnamese had 6.5. She didn’t deserve the low scores.”

“That’s why people here were furious because they weere pushing for Vietnam,” said Perez, a Davao native eyeing her fifth win overall in three SEA Games.

“This is the first time she won over me but we’ll still see each other,” she said of the Vietnamese.

Perez also missed the chance to redeem herself as the 1m springboard has been scratched. She could have competed in the synchronized dive but she had nobody to pair with.

Less controversial is the bronze finish by Ryan Fabriga and Jaime Asok’s fourth in the 10m platform. They will try to make up through the synchronized pair when the event winds up on Sunday.

Zardo Domenios and Nino Carog, meanwhile, take their turn in the individual 3m springboard Saturday. – Gerry Carpio