RP stays fifth with 7 golds

VIENTIANE – Two Filipino boxers, world champion Rubilen Amit, one more trackster and the low-profile wrestlers and wushu experts gave Team Philippines the seven golds it needed to move into a fifth place overall going into the final day of the 25th Southeast Asian Games yesterday.

The all-conquering Charly Suarez and Bill Vicera won the gold as expected to give the Philippines a five-gold medal haul in the boxing competitions.

Amit, the world 10-ball doubles champion, pocketed the last gold in billiards to sweep the two events in the women’s competition in the halls of the Don Chan Hotel, while Danilo Fresnido, silver medalist in 2007, came up with his longest throw ever to win the javelin throw and erase the Philippine record 70.70m which Benjamin Cawicaan set in 1999.

Fresnido’s golden win gave the athletics team seven gold medals at the close of athletic competitions.

At the Lao ITTEC wushu experts from Baguio – Mariane Mariano and Mark Eddiva – came through with gold medals in sanshou, but the biggest revelation were the Filipino wrestlers who nailed down two golds that lifted the Philippine camp to fifth place with its 37th gold, three behind Malaysia and sixth behind third-placed Indonesia.

Thailand continued to hold off Vietnam in their spirited battle for the overall championship with an 84-80-95 (gold-silver-bronze) haul. Vietnam has 81-71-57 while Indonesia totes a 43-53-73 slate.

Malaysia has a 40-40-59 haul while the Philippines has 37-34-47 aggregate.

Jimmy Angana’s wrestled well for the gold in the 60 kgs weight class as Vietnam’s Nguyen The Anh failed to answer the bell due to a sudden injury while Jason Balabal walloped Gabriel Yang of Singapore, 6-0, in the over 74 kgs division.

“I congratulate them for proving me wrong on my projections,” said PSC chairman Harry Angping, who had said he would be happy if the RP bets wind up with 32 golds, half of what the POC promised.

 “The resiliency and fighting spirit of the Filipino athletes have been shown once again,” he added.

There’s still ample reason for the Filipinos to clinch third before Friday evening’s ceremonies that will close this 11-nation, 25-event meet that drew about 4,000 participants.

Still to be played by the Philippines are seven finals where three golds are expected from the golden match between Mamiit and Huey in the singles, the mixed doubles tandems of Cecil Mamiit-Denise Dy and Treat Huey-Rizza Zalameda are in the semis and could make it an all-Filipino final anew.

Tac Padilla, winner of the 25m rapid fire pistol last Wednesday, is also seeing action in the 25m center fire pistol along with Ronald Hejastro and Robert Donalvo.

Other morning finals are scheduled in petanque’s men’s and women’s triples and sepak takraw’s men’s and women’s doubles.

Heartaches like Harry Tañamor’s loss in boxing were experienced elsewhere.

Mercedita Manipol-Fetalvero, third in the 5000m, claimed a silver in the 10000m, the same finish posted by the Mamiit-Huey and Dy-Zalameda pairs in tennis doubles, wushu artists Mary Jane Estimar (under52kg) and Benjie Rivera (under 56), judoka Ruth Dugaduga (70-78kg), freestyle wrestler Paolo delos Santos (50kg) and pencak silat’s Nurhabir Sansis Is (Class I: 85-90kg).

Settling for the bronze were judokas Karen Ann Solomo (63-70kg) and Rick Senales (81-90kg), Dennis Orcollo (9-ball) and wrestler Roque Mana-ay Jr. (60kg Shanin Gonzales stood 15th out of 19 competitors in the 25m pistol with a 534 against the 582 of gold medal winner P. Tanyaporn of Thailand, Julius Nerras (47.89) was fifth behind the 47.11 of topnotcher Mohd Zafril of Malaysia in the 400m run and Nelbert Ducusin (4:05.10) was also fifth in the 1,500 m run, won by Nguyen Dinh Cuong of Vietnam (3:46.58).