Ang, Topacio power PH shoot team to victory

Beijing Olympian Eric Ang cemented his legacy in trap shooting as he and Hagen Topacio powered the Philippine team to a runaway victory in the recent South East Asian Shooting Association (SEASA) Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ang, a 42-year-old businessman, turned out to be the catalyst for the PH team after clinching the silver medal in the individual competition.

The 11-time PH Open champion topped the new six-man semis stage by firing 12 targets to advance outright to the final, leaving Topacio and Vietnamese Le Nghia to shoot-off for the other final berth after finishing with similar 11 targets.

Le bested Topacio, 7-6, before edging Ang for the gold medal, 13-11.

“We can do better if we only had enough training,” said Ang, pride of Laoag City. “Our training was distracted because of the gun ban.”

Ang and Topacio bounced back in team competition with Ang firing 110 targets and Topacio, the chubby sharpshooter from University of the Philippines, hitting 115 targets as the PH team tallied 328 targets to beat Taiwan by 17 targets. The Malaysians landed third with 305.

Former world champion Jethro Dionisio also helped the PH cause by contributing 103 targets.

Inspired by the men’s team’s performance, the troika of Ylvanna Dy, Joelle Panganiban, Kathlyn Granados bagged the silver in their event. Like Ang, Dy brought home two medals by finishing third in the individual event.