Delos Santos takes on old rival in karate final

MANILA, Philippines — World No. 2 OJ delos Santos assured himself of at least a silver medal after advancing to the finals of the Athletes’ E-Tournament where he will face World No. 1 Eduardo Garcia of Portugal.

The 30-year-old Delos Santos edged American Alfredo Bustamante, 24.8-24, and Bolivian Angel Sanchez, 24.6-24.5, to set up an intriguing showdown with Garcia, currently the highest ranked online karateka in the world.

While Garcia has already submitted his entry in video form, the two-time Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist from the Philippines was trying to beat the 5 p.m. deadline yesterday.

The result will be announced today.

Delos Santos moved from No. 3 to No. 2 in the world rankings after he topped the Balkan Open eTournament last Aug. 3 and will continue to crowd Garcia at the top if he ends up winning another one.

Interestingly, Delos Santos lost to Garcia in the Adidas Karate World Open Series that was mired with controversy after the former was initially announced the winner but was stripped of the win due to an apparent scoring glitch.

Delos Santos had raked in three golds, a silver and a bronze in 12 tournaments he joined in a four-month span since the pandemic broke out last March.

The Filipino is on a roll.

As part of their preparation for next year’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Austria, Joshua Munzon and Alvin Pasaol will play side by side to familiarize themselves with one another even more once the Chooks-to-Go 3x3 Pilipinas League gets going at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.

If possible, they would love to play with their national teammates CJ Perez of Terra Firma and Mo Tautuaa of San Miguel.

“One thing that is confirmed right now is they will play together when we start our league,” said league commissioner Eric Altamirano in yesterday’s PSA online forum, referring to Munzon and Pasaol.

“As for the PBA players, we have not talked to their mother teams as well as the PBA yet because we all know they will be their priority. But if given a chance, yes, we can have all of them four players in one team in one of our conferences,” Altamirano added.

Pasaol said it is important for the team to get to practice together.

“We have a strong chance of performing well but chemistry will be an important factor,” said Pasaol.

But for now, Altamirano said they have to focus on preparing for the two conferences they are planning to hold this year.

“More than finishing the tournament, the important thing is if we can do this safely,” he said.

Altamirano is targeting 12 teams and about 100 to 150 individuals that will go in a bubble, observing strict health protocols.