Gold beckons in billiards, golf; Boxing nails maiden win; Filipinos shut out anew
GUANGZHOU—The highly regarded billiards squad continued cutting a path to the gold medal. Golf produced a pleasant surprise. And the boxing team bounced back from a bitter defeat.
There was only a bronze medal added to the Philippine tally in the 16th Asian Games Wednesday courtesy of wushu late Tuesday evening, but it was still a productive day for a delegation hanging on to even the slightest piece of good news. Warren Kiamco and Dennis Orcollo went through quarterfinal wringers before hammering out similar 9-8 victories that put them in the semifinals against two of the favored cue artists here. Kiamco will face Taiwanese standout Ko Pin Yi while Orcollo battles Korean veteran Jeong Young Hwa Wednesday at the Asian Games Town Gymnasium, which has become a graveyard for the medal bids of Filipino superstars like the legendary Efren “Bata” Reyes and Roberto Gomez in these Games. But to those who feel that the Filipinos are ripe for the picking in this centerpiece billiards event, Kiamco issued a warning. “Kung tatalunin man nila kami, dadaan muna sila sa butas ng karayom (They have to go through the eye of the needle to beat us),” said Kiamco, who showed hometown bet Dang Jinhu the door. Orcollo, on the other hand, knocked off the challenge of Vietnamese Nguyen Phoc Long. In golf, Miguel Tabuena fired a four-under 68 and found himself on top of the standings in the men’s individual race by a stroke. The 16-year-old rookie went to work early at the testy Dragon lake Golf Club, chipping in for birdie after missing the green at the par-3 No. 3 to key a strong 33 on the front nine. “I’m very happy with the way I played today and I really hope I can keep this up,” said Tabuena. “It’s my first Asian Games and I get the lead in the first day so it’s really good.” His 68 also pushed the men’s team to second with a two-over aggregate, eight shots behind pacesetting Korea. “We’re out of our league in the team competition,” admitted men’s coach Tommy Manotoc, who added that the team will nevertheless give its best shot behind Tabuena’s statement game. A shot off Tabuena were three dangerous foes—Sri Lanka’s Mit Kaluthanthrige and the Korean pair of Kim Meen-whee and Lee Jae-hyok. Wilfredo Lopez carried the flag for combat sports after taekwondo defeats earlier in the day, taking no chances against an opponent he hadn’t faced before and hammering out a 5-1 victory over Bangladesh’s Suruz Bangali at the Foshan Gymnasium at the heart of the Pearl River delta. “I did what I had to do,” the shy Lopez told the Inquirer. “I just struck with jabs and straights and tried to figure him out. After I studied him, that’s when I went on the attack.” Wushu’s bronze came Tuesday night when Mark Edivar finished third in the 65kg men’s sanshou event. Miguel Molina also provided a decent result for swimming after finishing fifth in the 200m individual medley with a time of 2:04.24. Molina was close to six seconds behind eventual gold medal winner Ken Takakuwa of Japan, who clocked 1:58.31 at the Aoti Aquatics Center. Other swimmers failed to make it to the finals.
Jasmine Alkhaldi missed the train in the women’s 100 free, finishing third in her heat with a time of 58.01 seconds. Daniel Coakley was last in the men’s 100 free at 52.71 in a heat he shared with Korean pool star Park Taehwan. Charles Walker was sixth in his heat in the same event at 52.40. Erica Totten was third in her heat in the women’s 800 free with a time of 8:54.11. At Aoti’s shooting range, Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla finished 11th in the men’s 25m standard pistol while across the street at the tennis center, Cecil Mamiit and Treat Huey advanced to the second round of doubles competition via a walkover. Taekwondo suffered sorry losses as it opened up competition Wednesday. Samuel Morrison lost to Thailand’s Patiwat Thongsalup in an action-packed bout, 20-11. Morisson injured his leg after a 15-5 victory over Nepal’s Dan Bahadur Airie in his first match. Malaysian Olympian Elaine Teo ousted Jyra Marie Lizardo right off the gates, 6-3. The loss that hurt most saw Pauline Lopez absorb a 10-6 setback from Youth Olympics standout Dana Touran of Jordan.
After turning Laila Hussaini, 1-0, Lopez was going for a semifinal slot and took a 6-3 lead against Tourran.
But she got nailed by a kick to the head and then crossed out of the lines to merit a one-point deduction. All of a sudden, the score was tied. Lopez pressed the attack and got nailed in the head again.
There was only a bronze medal added to the Philippine tally in the 16th Asian Games Wednesday courtesy of wushu late Tuesday evening, but it was still a productive day for a delegation hanging on to even the slightest piece of good news. Warren Kiamco and Dennis Orcollo went through quarterfinal wringers before hammering out similar 9-8 victories that put them in the semifinals against two of the favored cue artists here. Kiamco will face Taiwanese standout Ko Pin Yi while Orcollo battles Korean veteran Jeong Young Hwa Wednesday at the Asian Games Town Gymnasium, which has become a graveyard for the medal bids of Filipino superstars like the legendary Efren “Bata” Reyes and Roberto Gomez in these Games. But to those who feel that the Filipinos are ripe for the picking in this centerpiece billiards event, Kiamco issued a warning. “Kung tatalunin man nila kami, dadaan muna sila sa butas ng karayom (They have to go through the eye of the needle to beat us),” said Kiamco, who showed hometown bet Dang Jinhu the door. Orcollo, on the other hand, knocked off the challenge of Vietnamese Nguyen Phoc Long. In golf, Miguel Tabuena fired a four-under 68 and found himself on top of the standings in the men’s individual race by a stroke. The 16-year-old rookie went to work early at the testy Dragon lake Golf Club, chipping in for birdie after missing the green at the par-3 No. 3 to key a strong 33 on the front nine. “I’m very happy with the way I played today and I really hope I can keep this up,” said Tabuena. “It’s my first Asian Games and I get the lead in the first day so it’s really good.” His 68 also pushed the men’s team to second with a two-over aggregate, eight shots behind pacesetting Korea. “We’re out of our league in the team competition,” admitted men’s coach Tommy Manotoc, who added that the team will nevertheless give its best shot behind Tabuena’s statement game. A shot off Tabuena were three dangerous foes—Sri Lanka’s Mit Kaluthanthrige and the Korean pair of Kim Meen-whee and Lee Jae-hyok. Wilfredo Lopez carried the flag for combat sports after taekwondo defeats earlier in the day, taking no chances against an opponent he hadn’t faced before and hammering out a 5-1 victory over Bangladesh’s Suruz Bangali at the Foshan Gymnasium at the heart of the Pearl River delta. “I did what I had to do,” the shy Lopez told the Inquirer. “I just struck with jabs and straights and tried to figure him out. After I studied him, that’s when I went on the attack.” Wushu’s bronze came Tuesday night when Mark Edivar finished third in the 65kg men’s sanshou event. Miguel Molina also provided a decent result for swimming after finishing fifth in the 200m individual medley with a time of 2:04.24. Molina was close to six seconds behind eventual gold medal winner Ken Takakuwa of Japan, who clocked 1:58.31 at the Aoti Aquatics Center. Other swimmers failed to make it to the finals.
Jasmine Alkhaldi missed the train in the women’s 100 free, finishing third in her heat with a time of 58.01 seconds. Daniel Coakley was last in the men’s 100 free at 52.71 in a heat he shared with Korean pool star Park Taehwan. Charles Walker was sixth in his heat in the same event at 52.40. Erica Totten was third in her heat in the women’s 800 free with a time of 8:54.11. At Aoti’s shooting range, Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla finished 11th in the men’s 25m standard pistol while across the street at the tennis center, Cecil Mamiit and Treat Huey advanced to the second round of doubles competition via a walkover. Taekwondo suffered sorry losses as it opened up competition Wednesday. Samuel Morrison lost to Thailand’s Patiwat Thongsalup in an action-packed bout, 20-11. Morisson injured his leg after a 15-5 victory over Nepal’s Dan Bahadur Airie in his first match. Malaysian Olympian Elaine Teo ousted Jyra Marie Lizardo right off the gates, 6-3. The loss that hurt most saw Pauline Lopez absorb a 10-6 setback from Youth Olympics standout Dana Touran of Jordan.
After turning Laila Hussaini, 1-0, Lopez was going for a semifinal slot and took a 6-3 lead against Tourran.
But she got nailed by a kick to the head and then crossed out of the lines to merit a one-point deduction. All of a sudden, the score was tied. Lopez pressed the attack and got nailed in the head again.
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