A three-man Philippine team secured two bronze medals in the recent 5th Southeast Asian junior and cadet wrestling championships in Suphanburi, Thailand.
Twenty-year-old Alvin Lobreguito and 16-year-old Joshua Gayuchan finished third in their respective divisions while Joseph Angana barely missed another bronze in the event that drew tough entries from seven countries.
Lobreguito posted a 2-1 record in the 55-kilogram freestyle junior division to ensure a podium finish while Gayuchan also wound up with a 2-1 record in the 50-kg cadet category.
Lobreguito beat Southeast Asian Games silver winner Benmart Kritsada of Thailand, 5-1, in his first match, lost to Vietnamese Ngo Xuan Nam, 9-3, then bested Cambodia’s Chon Thu, 6-3, in the bronze medal encounter.
Gayuchan pinned down hometown bet Kritsada Wannapat, took a 16-6 beating from Nguyen Khac Dong of Vietnam then pinned Patomporn of Sohab of Thailand in his third match.
Angana, competing in the 60-kg Greco-Roman, finished with a 2-2 card. The 20-year-old brother of SEA Games champions Jimmy and Margarito Jr. started strong with a 6-0 win over Cambodia’s Yun Bunna then lost, 6-0, to Vietnamese Pham Sy Thu in his next match.
In the losers’ bracket, Angana whipped Attachai Jantarachit of Thailand, 15-2. But he bowed to Rittisak Phawan, 7-0, in the bronze medal duel.