SEA Games 2019: PH sweeps sepak takraw hoop events

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--The Philippines struck both the gold medals on the line in the Southeast Asian Games sepak takraw hoop events at the Subic Gymnasium on Sunday.

The men's team had a smooth cruise in its competition, beating Cambodia and Laos by more than 200 points to win it all.

The Rodolfo Eco-coached team composed of Jason Huerte, Janjan Bobier, Metodio Sueco, Emmanuel Escote, John Jeffrey Morcellos and Christian George Encabo finished with 670 points, way ahead of Cambodia, which only had 450.

Cambodia's slow start hampered its bid to snatch the gold on the road, but it still did enough to capture the silver, beating Laos, which had 430 points, by just 20 points for the second spot.

Meanwhile, the women's team headed by Playing Coach Deseree Autor prevailed in a close battle against Indonesia and Myanmar.

The Philippine women's team, also consisting of Josefina Maat, Sara Jean Kalalo, Mary Ann Lopez, Jean Marie Sucalit and Abigail Sinugbohan, also ended up with 670 points, but the squad barely edged Indonesia, which had 660, for the gold. Myanmar, the eventual bronze medalist, was also not far behind with 640 points.

In the hoop event, the teams have to kick the ball high into the mounted rings with corresponding points for 30 minutes.

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