By Ricky Manliguis
MANILA— The Philippines rolled right from the get-go,
nabbing 22 gold medals with another win in a demonstration sport in the first day of official competitions of the 2019
Southeast Asian Games Sunday.
Anchored by another medal haul from dancesports while breakthrough
wins in arnis, sepak takraw, kurash and gymnastics, the hosts sits atop the
medal tally along with 12 silvers and nine bronze medals.
In just two days, the hosts already surpassed the 24-gold output it produced during the 2017 edition of the biennial meet help in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In just two days, the hosts already surpassed the 24-gold output it produced during the 2017 edition of the biennial meet help in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Vietnam is a far second place with 10 golds, 14 silvers, and
nine bronzes, while Thailand climbed to third with a 5-4-10 medal count.
Malaysia (4-4-2), Singapore (3-3-5), and Indonesia (1-4-5)
have already got a least a gold. Cambodia, Myanmar, and Brunei have yet to
strike gold.
Dancers exits on a
high
Dancesport added five more gold medals in the Latin American
category at the Royce Hotel in Clark in Pampanga, ending their campaign with 10
golds and three silver medals.
The pair of Wilbert Aunzo and Pearl Marie Caneda plucked in
three gold medals in Cha cha cha, Salsa and, Rumba, even as Michael Angelo
Marquez and Stephanie Sabalo struck wins
in Paso Doble and the Open category.
Two additional silvers were provided by Marquez and Sabalo (Latin
Jive), and Debbie Mahinay in the Breakdance B-Girls category.
Yulo shines for
all-around gold
Over at the Rizal Memorial Sports Center, Carlos Yulo
thrilled the crowd as he snatched the gold in the men’s individual artistic all-around category.
The Tokyo Olympics-bound Yulo dominated in the horizontal bar
and his pet event floor exercise to tally 84.900 points, beating Vietnamese
bets Dinh Phuong Thanh (82.350) and Le
Thanh Tung (81.700) who got silver and bronze, respectively.
Arnsiadors sweep
In arnis, the Philippines won all of its four finals assignments
to record a sweep in the men’s live stick event at the Angeles University
Foundation Gym in Angeles City.
Dexler Bolambao opened the gold-medal rush with a unanimous
decision win over Myanmar’s Paing Soe in the bantamweight division. Niño Mark
Talledo followed suit in the featherweight class, beating Van Kien Vu of
Vietnam also via UD.
Villardo Canumay bucked his height advantage to pull off a
majority decision success over Mengly Yong of Cambodia in the lightweight class.
Mark Bañares then subdued Vietnam’s Thai Viet Phu to complete the PH sweep.
The women’s team also provided medals, led by Jezebelle Morcillo’s
gold-medal performance over Thi Huong Nguyen of Vietnam in the bantamweight
division.
Jude Oliver Marie
Rodriguez then settled for silver in the featherweight division, falling to another
Vietnamese bet Thi Thanh Binh Vu via unanimous decision. Eza Rai Yalong and
Erlin Mae Busacay copped bronze medals in the lightweight and welterweight
divisions.
Gold in other fronts
The country also produced a golden double in sepak takraw
courtesy of the men’s and women’s hoop event. The women’s team scored 670
points, just 10 points ahead of Indonesia, for the gold. The men’s team then
completed the twinkill beating Cambodia and Laos in the final.
Estie Gay Liwanen procuded the first gold medal at the Games
in kurash, winning the women’s 63kg event. Kurash is a folk wrestling style originating
in Central Asia.
Jan Emmanuel Garcia nabbed the individual online chess gold at the Traveler's Hotel Rialto Function Room in Subic. However, the online chess event is a demonstration sport, and Garcia's gold will not count to the official tally, keeping the Philippines' official gold count at 22.
More medals snatched
Water Polo got back into the podium after an eight-year
absence after the men’s team finished with a silver after its 14-11 win over
Malaysia in its final preminary match. The women’s side, meanwhile, settled for
bronze in the three-team tournament.
Over in mountain bike
cycling in Laurel, Batangas, Niño Surban and EJ Flores finished second and thirs,
respectively, in the men’s croos country event.
Alisson Perticheto had a strong start but settled for a
silver medal in ladies' figure skating free skate at the SM Megamall Skating
Rink. The 2017 bronze medalist had a
total score of 132.76 points, 20 points behind eventual winner Chloe Ing of
Singapore.
John Fabliar Ceniza wins silver in 55kg event in
weightlifting after a total lift of 252kg (112kg snatch, 140kg clean & jerk). Earlier in the day, Mary Flor Diaz wins bronze medal in the 45kg final
with a lift of 159 kg.
SEAG action resumes on Monday with a total of 18 golds to be contested.
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