4 more golds; cagers triumph

WINNING JUMP. HENRY Dagmil glides to a perfect jump of 7.80 meters on his second attempt. RAFFY LERMA

NAYPYITAW—Veteran Henry Dagmil and Christian Bagsit delivered a pair of golds in athletics and Mark Galedo struck with a breakthrough win for cycling yesterday as the Philippines launched a desperate charge in the overall race going into the final week of the 27th Southeast Asian Games here.

Dismissed by his rivals as a has-been, the 32-year-old Dagmil regained the men’s long jump gold with a leap of 8.80 meters while Bagsit improved on his silver effort two years ago by leading a 1-2 Filipino finish in the men’s 400 meters with a time of  47.22 seconds.

Edgardo Alejan was second in 47.45 as he underscored the strength of the country’s 400-meter relay squad, which is also a heavy favorite to win in the Games’ centerpiece sport where officials expect at least five golds.

Galedo, a two-time bikathon winner, clocked one hour 7 minutes and 50.798 seconds  in topping the men’s 50-kilometer individual time trial final held on a 10-lane highway near Mount Pleasant with fellow Tour veteran Ronald Oranza salvaging the bronze (1:07:50) behind an Indonesian.

As expected, Sinag Pilipinas thumped Malaysia, 84-56, to sweep the men’s basketball tournament at Zeyar Thiri Indoor Stadium, a new landmark in this fast-developing city carved out of the vast jungles of central Burma.

Bobby Ray Parks scored 18 points and Kevin Alas added 15 as the Filipinos finished the Malaysians off with a flourish to secure the country’s 16th cage crown in the Games.

“They were probably surprised,” said Dagmil, who also won his pet event in 2005 Manila. “They thought I’m already done.”

The athlete from Polomolk, South Cotabato, pulled off his winning jump on his second try.

The silver went to 2011 winner Supanara Sukhasvasti of Thailand with 7.71 and the bronze to Vietnam’s Van Lam Pham with 7.53.

Dagmil, whose personal best was 7.99 achieved in the 2008 Los Angeles Olympics, tried to best his SEA Games mark of 7.87 six years ago but fouled in his last two jumps.

“I still have power in my legs. Thanks to my coaches for improving my technique,” he said.

“My pacing was good, I ran at full speed and didn’t mind the field,” said Bagsit, a 22-year-old ace from NCAA track and field titlist Letran.

Galedo, the champion of the 2012 Ronda Pilipinas and one of Road Bike Philippines’ top riders, received his gold from Cavite Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, the country’s cycling president, during the awarding ceremony.

Still mired in seventh overall, the Philippines now has 11 golds along with 13 silvers and 21 bronzes, just four golds behind Singapore (15-14-24).

A big disappointment was defending hammer throw champion Arniel Ferrera who settled for the silver as Pong Phetchaya of Thailand erased his SEA Games mark set in 2009 of 61.62 meters with a heave of 62.23. Ferrera, a many-time gold winner, managed 61.18.

Pole vaulter Riezel Buenaventura failed to clear 3.80 meters and bagged the bronze in the event won by Thai Sakanya Chomchuendee (4.10m).

Two-time Olympian lifter Hidilyn Diaz was also a golden flop, losing by a kilogram to Thai Sukanya Srisurat in the women’s 58 kg after a combined lift of 225 in the snatch (102) and clean and jerk (123).

Diaz also lifted 102 in the snatch but could only manage 122 in the clean and jerk.

The men’s golf team, a last-minute inclusion, trailed by eight strokes after the first round with a 218 total. Thailand showed the way with 210 followed by Indonesia (211), Burma (Myanmar) (212) and Singapore (213).

Hampered by a series of failures, chef de mission Jeff Tamayo has lowered the PH target to 25 golds from a high of 30 before the Games’ opening.

At presstime, Thailand surged ahead with 45 golds, 40 silvers and 40 bronzes as Burma tallied 38-31-35 and Vietnam 35-32-41. Indonesia was fourth (32-47-44) and Malaysia fifth (24-15-38).

With the gold out of reach, Perlas Pilipinas subdued Indonesia, 55-45, for its second victory in three games. The women’s team got whacked by the unbeaten Thais, 36-75, making their bid for the crown almost impossible.

Dennis Orcollo nipped Malaysian Ibrahim Amir, 9-8, in his opening match in the 9-ball singles. Carlo Biado wasn’t as fortunate as Burma’s Aung Moe Thu ousted the reigning Philippine titlist, 6-9, in the round of 32.

After nailing a gold courtesy of Ramon Antonio Franco in the 55 kg kumite on Saturday night, the karatekas floundered in the men’s and women’s team event.

In the morning heats, Bagsit submitted the best clocking with a time of 47.828 seconds while Alejan topped his heat  in 48.012.

On Saturday night, Jasmine Alkhaldi pocketed another bronze in the 100 m butterfly before Jessie Khing Lacuna, Alkhaldi’s fellow London Olympian, placed fifth in setting a new Philippine record in the men’s 100 m fly.

Alkhaldi, who placed third in a controversial 100 m freestyle re-swim, clocked 1:01.76 behind Singapore’s Tao Li (59.87) and Ting Wen Quah (1:00.34).

Lacuna eclipsed the 55.15 seconds set by James Walsh in 2007 with a clocking of 55.08 in the event won by Joseph Isaac Schooling, who registered a SEA Games mark of 53.67.