Phl judokas vie in Asian tourney

MANILA, Philippines - The 14-man Philippine judo team sees action in the 2011 Asian Judo Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, mixing it up with the top judokas from Japan, North and South Korea and China starting today for berths in the London Olympics.

Head coach Rolan Llamas is pinning his hopes on Nancy Quillotes and Fil-Japanese Tomohiko Hoshina, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in last year’s Guangzhou Asian Games.

But Llamas said Quillotes and Hoshina must turn in solid finishes in Abu Dhabi to remain among the top seven in the world in their respective categories and gain slots in the summer games.

If Quillotes and Hoshina make it to London, they’ll be the first Phl athletes to do so and will join the other four from mandatory Olympic sports, including swimming and track and field, which are allowed to field at least two athletes.

Others competing in the event are multiple Southeast Asian Games gold medalist John Baylon, Daryl Lucero, Gilbert Ramirez, Dennis Catipon, Fil-Jap Kenji Yahata, Leslyn Gonzales, Adrienne Bernardez, Helen Dawa and Annie Ramirez.

The delegation is accompanied by judo chief Dave Carter and women’s mentor Lorrie Mendoza.

The other countries competing in the top-level tournament are Mongolia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.