Javier salvages duathlon bronze in Asian Beach Games

PHUKET, Thailand—Robeno Javier sustained the country’s medal run in the 4th Asian Beach Games by finishing third in men’s duathlon Saturday.

The country’s No. 1 duathlete settled for the bronze medal after battling it out with the Japanese tandem of Ryo Sueoka and Yuya Fukaura in the event made up of a 5-kilometer run, 20-km bike and 2.5-km run.

Sueoka pressed on in the final kilometer and crossed the line first in 54 minutes and 20 seconds for the gold while Fukaura checked in five seconds behind.

Javier reached the finish in 54:57 followed by Johan Jauhari of Indonesia (56 minutes) and Carlo Pedregosa of the Philippines (56:30).

After matching the Japanese pair stride for stride throughout, the 29-year-old Javier lost steam when Sueoka and Fukaura pulled away in the final run phase of the event that drew 20 other competitors.

Javier’s bronze was the fourth medal of the Philippines in just three days of action.

“I hope the trend continues. We’ve been winning medals since the competitions began,” said Philippine chef de mission Richard Gomez.

Ju-jitsu fighters Annie Ramirez and Maybelline Masuda grabbed gold medals Friday following the bronze finish of John Baylon in men’s ju-jitsu the day before.

Mirasol Abad wasn’t as fortunate as Javier after the 2013 World Games campaigner ended up fourth in the women’s duathlon behind another Japanese duo and a strong contender from Macau.

Yuri Kato of Japan topped the race in 1:02:58, finishing 28 seconds infront of Macau’s Long Hoi and nearly two minutes ahead of compatriot Matsumoto Fumika. Abad checked in at 1:08:04 and Miscelle Gilbuena, another rated Filipino duathlete, came in fifth (1:09:22) out of 18 participants.

Both Filipinos were in the company of Kato, Hoi and Fumika going to the bike segment but couldn’t keep up with the pace from there.

In women’s 3×3 basketball, Perlas Pilipinas opened its bid on a high note after downing defending champion India, 13-11, at Karon Park.

Mary Joy Galicia put in a free throw and sealed the victory with a baseline drive in the dying seconds. Galicia finished with seven points, Denise Patricia Tiu added three and team captain Melissa Jacob had two for Perlas, which faces Mongolia on Sunday.