By Waylon Galvez

What was supposed to be a sure gold for Elreen Ann Ando of the Philippines ended in a controversial and stunning setback in the 30th Southeast Asian Games Tuesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

Elreen Ann Ando settles for silver in the women’s weightlifting 64kg category. With her at the back is Monico Puentevella, president of Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas. (Waylon Galvez)

Ando was hit with technicalities as judges ruled a ‘no lift’ as time ran out on her third and final attempt in the clean and jerk to settle for a silver medal in her first SEA Games, losing the gold to Vietnam bet Pham Thi Hong Thanh despite leading most of the way in the 64kg women’s category.

The 24-year-old weightlifter from Cebu was about to lift 120kg, but as she was about to hoist the barbell the buzzer sounded, which led to confusions. Her coaches tried to clarify the matter to technical officials but they maintained the ruling of ‘no lift’ by Ando.

Ando’s first two attempts were good at 105kg and 120kg.

Thanh also had a successful first attempt by lifting 107kg.

However, as Thanh was readying for her second attempt – this time at 120kg – with the two-minute time running, her coaches asked for time stoppage and changed the weight to 124kg.

That was where trouble happened on Ando’s side.

Instead of going back to the stage, the Vietnamese gave way to Ando – and the strategy worked in their favor. Apparently Ando’s coaches thought the time was reset to two, but was instead set to one-minute.

By the time she attempted a lift, Ando ran out of time.

Thanh returned for her second lift, but failed to complete in her initial attempt at 124kg. On her second try, she finally got a good lift to take the gold away from Ando as she finished with a total lift of 214kg to the former’s 213kg.

“Masakit kasi kala ko gold na. Naubusan ng oras e,” said a teary eyes Ando, who was comforted by teammate and SEA Games gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz. “Masaya pa din maski silver medal. Sayang lang yung gold medal.”

Ando topped the snatch event with 98kg to Thanh’s 90kg. Indonesia’s Bernadicta Study took the bronze medal with a total lift of 186kg.

Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas chief Monico Puentevella said nobody is to blamed for what happened. He believes that Ando would come out a better athlete from this experience.

“Hindi siya natalo because malakas yung kalaban. It’s the rules, and we have to follow the rules. Ganun talaga e, naubos ang time niya, but I’m not blaming anybody. It happens during games, in the world championship in happened,” said Puentevella.

“Pero itong batang ito abangan niyo babalik ito and she will try to qualify in next year’s Tokyo Olympics,” he added, referring to Ando’s remaining three Olympic qualifying tournaments in China, Rome and Kazakhstan.

Ando’s silver medal is the third for the weightlifting team after John Fabuar Ceniza in 55kg men’s and Margaret Colonia in 59kg women’s.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Gabriela Baron

The heavy downpour caused by Tropical Typhoon have not dampened the exciting mood of hundreds of billiards spectators who came to Tent City at the historic Manila Hotel on Tuesday.

Philippines’ Carlo Biado (L) and Johann Chua pose after winning the match against the Malaysia during the men’s double 9 ball at the 30th Southeast Asia games in Manila, December 3, 2019. (Czar Dancel)

The 2,400-sqm multi-purpose venue was in near capacity.

Olympic medalist Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco who carried the Southeast Asian Games Federation flag along with other Philippine sports legends, was among those who watch the matches.

The hometown bets didn’t let the fans down.

Johann Chua’s family were seated in front when Chua and partner Carlo Biado routed Indonesia’s Jefry Zen and Afrinneza Nasurion Irsal, 9-3 in the quarterfinals of the men’s 9-ball doubles.

Meanwhile, Warren Kiamco and Jeffrey Ignacio survived Brunei’s Murni Ahmad Taufiq and Muhammad Azim Abu Bakar 9-8.

Biado bagged the gold medal in the last edition of the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2017.

In the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, Biado and Kiamco won the 9-ball doubles event

In snooker, Basil Alshajjar and Michael Mengorio advanced to the quarterfinals after edging Indonesia’s Wirawan Putu Edi and Khristanto Dhendy.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Betheena Unite

The Philippine women’s volleyball team dropped its first game in the 30th Southeast Asian Games against Vietnam in a five-set thriller witnessed by a mammoth crowd Tuesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The Philippine women’s volleyball team yielded to Vietnam in the women’s volleyball opener of the 30th SEA Games at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City, Dec. 3, 2019. (Betheena Unite)

National team standouts Alyssa Valdez, Ces Molina, Jovelyn Gonzaga, and Majoy Baron displayed an efficient scoring performance only to be outlasted by Vietnam, the 27th SEA Games bronze medalist, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 15-8.

Thi Than Thuy Tran led Vietnam with 27 points, mostly off attacks.

Valdez also attempted to carry the Nationals with 22 points, coming from 20 attacks and two service aces, while Molina, Gonzaga, and ASEAN Grand Prix best middle blocker Baron combined for 34 points only to fall short in the deciding fifth set against the more experienced Vietnam team.

The Philippine team’s closest shot at winning the game was at a 6-6 deadlock in the fifth set off Vietnam’s attack error. But the Vietnamese countered with two straight points to take the lead 8-6 and never looked back.

Despite the loss, Coach Shaq delos Santos took it as a lesson for their next games in the short tournament.

“I think meron kaming magandandang naging performance but siyempre medyo na-short. Hindi maganda yung result pero lesson learned para sa amin and siyempre kailangan namin paghandaan yung mga next game namin (I think we had a good performance but we only fell short. The result was not good but it was a lesson learned for us as we take on our next games),” delos Santos said.

Valdez stressed that Vietnam’s experience got the best of them and prevented the Nationals to take the victory.

“Kinulang sabi nga ni coach, kinapos kami talaga sa dulo, we had a good fight from the first set to the fourth set but I guess, experience will play a big role during the fifth set and sa dami siguro ng laro ng Vietnam for the longest time na international competitions na medyo ngayon hinahabol natin as a national team,” Valdez said.

“We’re thinking positively naman sa game simula pa lang so we can’t drag ourselves down. So, kailangan positive pa rin,” she added.

Team captain Aby Maraño, who chipped in five points, also believed that the loss was instrumental for their improvement.

“Sayang, yun lang unang pumasok sa isip ko kasi nakita ko yung effort ng team, e nandoon. Siguro isa ‘to sa mga aral na dadalhin namin para ma mag-improve pa kami, ma-motivate kami and ma-inspire kami na pagbutihan pa sa mga susunod na laban (I think this will be among the lessons that we have to take to improve, to be motivated, and inspired in the next games).”

Delos Santos also admitted that the team, which had to go through adjustments after losing two Fil-American players, had “inconsistencies in both offense and defense” — factors for improvement in their next outings. “[T]he game isn’t just for us.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

The Philippines moved a step closer toward arranging an all-local showdown for the gold after its two teams advance to the semifinals of the 30th Southeast Asian Games men’s 9-ball doubles Tuesday night at the Tent City of The Manila Hotel.

Carlo Biado and Johann Chua pose after winning their match against Malaysia 9-2 in the men’s 9-ball doubles of the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the Tent City of the Manila Hotel. (Czar Dancel)

Carlo Biado and Johann Chua opened their campaign with a 9-2 romp of Jken Yung Kok and Almie Muhammad of Malaysia before cruising to a 9-3 win over Indonesia’s Jefry Zen and Afrinneza Nasution Irsal.

Warren Kiamco and Jeffrey Ignacio cruised past Darryl Chia Soo Yew and Ibrahim Bin Amir 9-3 before surviving anxious moments to outlast the Brunei pair ofMurni Ahmad Taufiq and Muhammad Azim Abu Bakar 9-8.

By reaching the last four, the team of Biado and Chua and the Kiamco-Ignacio tandem are assured of at least a bronze medal, though the two teams are setting their sights on making it an all-Pinoy affair for the gold.

Biado and Chua will face defending champion Toh Lian Han and Aloysius Yapp of Singapore while Kiamco and Ignacio take on Aung Moe Thu and Myint Kyaw Phone of Myanmar in the semifinals set 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

Biado and Chua had little trouble, with the former exhibiting precise pocketing skills that enabled him to win two 9-ball singles and one 9-ball doubles gold in his SEA Games career.

“Masaya kami kasi maganda yung break namin sa umpisa at maganda mga tira namin kaya medyo nakalayo din kami sa kalaban namin,” said Biado.

Kiamco and Ignacio, on the other hand, had to sweat it out against Brunei, twice squandering a two-rack lead.

In fact, Kiamco had a chance to seal the win in the 15th rack but missed the 9-ball on a tough angle to the side pocket. That enabled Brunei to claim the next two racks and set up a hill-hill affair.

The Philippine pair had trouble with its preparation in the last rack, with Kiamco nearly missing the eight ball to the corner, drawing a mixture of cheers and laughter from a group of knowledgable fans.

“Sa dami ng tournament na sinalihan ko, dito ako na-pressure,” Kiamco told the audience that included coach Django Bustamante and female players Iris Ranola and Floriza Andal.

Meanwhile, Michael Angelo Mengorio and Basil Hasan Al Shajjar defeated Indonesia’s Putu Edi Wirawan and Dhency Krhistanto 2-1 in snooker doubles.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Joseph Almer Pedrajas

Before becoming the Philippines’ latest wushu star, the country’s two-time SEA Games gold medalist Agatha Wong revealed  she had to overcome bullying.

Agatha Wong performs during the wushu taolu taijijian to bag the gold medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at World Trade Center, December 3, 2019. (MB Photo / Rio Leonelle Deluvio / Captured using Canon 1DX Mark II with 400mm f2.8 lens / #TeamCanonPH #CanonProfessionalService #CPS)

Behind her intimidating moves in the discipline through her slow, relaxed movements and balance during the two events for the Southeast Asian games wushu competitions, Wong bared that she had been bullied several times during her early age.

“Actually, [the bullying] started when I was kindergarten, then grade school and high school,” she said in an interview with the Manila Bulletin before the awarding ceremony at the World Trade Center in Pasay City Tuesday.

“[Also] one time in college and one time din sa wushu, and sa swimming and sa karate, na-bully din ako,” she added.

The 21-year-old multi-talented athlete said she was “an easy victim of bullying” because she is “really shy and a meek person as compared to who [she is] now.”

“But when I got older, when I turned 17 to 18 years old, I started realizing na people shouldn’t treat other people like that,” Wong, an athlete-advocate, said.

“Kaya nga I’m really an advocate for fighting for yourself.”

Bullied many times over, Wong never considered pursuing wushu to do any harm. Instead, she took these as fuel to her fire in striving to become better in her sports.

“Kasi it’s really different. Dito pa lang sa competition, parang the crowd’s on edge,”  said Wong, who started training for wushu when she was eight.

“Is the athlete gonna fall? Magkakamali kaya ang athlete? Ano kaya ang score nito? It so funny and makes me excited,” she said.

“Wushu is really a beautiful sports and not many Filipinos know it.”

Wong competed closely against Vietnam’s and Brunei’s athletes during the two wushu events.

During taolu taijiquan, Brunei’s Basma Lachkar logged 9.55 and Vietnam’s Tran Thi Minh Huyen, 9.53 behind her 9.67.

In taolu taijijuan where Wong made 9.65, her protagonists also made it to the top three, with Huyen recording 9.63 and Lachkar with 9.62.

“Vietnam and Brunei are really good. Actually, I’m really really proud na halos kasing level kami,” Wong said.

Going for her second gold, Wong said she needed to focus while delivering her almost four-minute performance.

In winning her second event, she said, “kailangan you know how to deal pressure talaga and you should know how to mute the crowds  kasi it will make you distracted.”

Wong stressed that hard work beats talent when it comes to winning.

“Kailangan lang talaga ng hard work kasi minsan kahit meron ka namang talent pero hindi ka naman hardworking, wala ka ring mararating,” she said.

“So even if sometimes, people who aren’t that smart, they work hard and they still passed, di ba? So I really have to work hard just as twice to get where I am today.”

As Philippine sports’ golden girl.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Katrina Hernandez and Marie Alexis Sy celebrate a shot during the bowling event of the 30th SEA Games in Mandaluyong City. (PHOTO/ ALVIN KASIBAN)

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Gabriela Baron

Filipino netizens have demonstrated sportsmanship online as they cheer for Timor Leste’s athletes who have yet to clinch a medal.

Because of the support, #TimorLeste became one of the trending topics on Twitter.

One netizen said that he wants Timor Leste to “go home with a smile.”

Fight Timor-Leste we want you to go home with a smile and something to celebrate get that Gold or silver or Bronze. Hindi lang pilipinas “Filipinos are also Cheering for Timor leste to get SEA GAMES medal. #TimorLeste#WeWinAsOne

— Abraham (@AbrahamLedda) December 3, 2019

Go! Fight! Win! #TimorLeste bring some medals for your country! #Philippines are here to support you! #2019SEAGames #WeWinAsOne #30thSEAGAMES #PHasONE pic.twitter.com/MpcL1haY76

— SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES 2019 (@SeaGamesUpdates) December 3, 2019
Meanwhile others feel happy their their fellow  Filipinos are cheering for Timor Leste.

Its nice to see my fellow kababayans cheering for East Timor ❤ that is indeed the real spirit of the southeast asian games #TimorLestepic.twitter.com/TKRFWIL1WC

— Ronald (@HashtagRonald) December 3, 2019

          I love how Filipinos are also cheering for #TimorLeste ❤️❤️❤️

— J (@joshibel) December 3, 2019

Timor Leste was first admitted to the regional meet in 2003.

In the 2017 edition of the Games in Kuala Lumpure, the country managed to bag three bronze medals in taekwondo.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

The Philippines remained unbeaten in baseball and softball after two days of competitions in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at The Villages in Clark, Pampanga.

The Philippine Blu Girls won their first three matches in the 30th SEA Games. (Photo from Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines)

Baseball posted contrasting wins after two games after edging Thailand 3-2 and Cambodia 12-0 in eight innings to set in motion its bid for a third gold medal in the biennial meet.

Women’s softball saw the Blu Girls cruise to easy victories following a 6-0 shutout of Singapore, 8-1 over Malaysia and an 11-1 rout of Indonesia in four innings.

On the other hand, the Blu Boys rolled past Thailand 11-0 on Monday before surviving Indonesia 7-3 the following day after erupting for four runs in the sixth.

Five countries, including Singapore and Cambodia, are competing in the baseball with the top two teams after the single-round eliminations advancing to the gold medal match on Sunday.

The core of the team that placed fifth in the Asian Baseball Championship in Taichung, Taiwan lead the squad’s quest to rule the first SEA Games baseball event since the Philippines claimed gold in the 2011 Palembang Games.

Diego Lozano, Jennald Pareja, Erwin Bosito, Jonash Ponce, Adriane Bernardo, Kiko Gesmundo, Miguel Salud and Paolo Macasaet are some of the notable players on the national baseball roster.

The Blu Girls and Blu Boys, meanwhile, are seeking their sixth straight gold in both divisions.

Cheska Altomonte, Garrie Blando, Mary Ann Antolihao and Angelie Ursabia lead the Blu Girls’ bid while the Blu Boys are led by veterans Apol Rosales, Jerome Bacarisas and Marlon Pagkaliwagan.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Nick Giongco

CLARKFIELD, Pampanga—After dominating the three-day competitions, arnis head and Sen. Migz Zubiri is batting for the Filipino martial arts in the 2021 Hanoi Southeast Asian Games.

Dexter Balambao of the Philippines shouts as he celebrates after defeating Pang Soe of Myanmar during their Bantamweight Arnis MAtch at the Angeles University Foundation in Pampanga. Balambao bagged the first gold medal for the Philippine Arnis Team. (Mark Balmores)

With a winning tally of 14-4-2, Zubiri feels arnis has what it takes to be included in the 2021 calendar of events.

“We are hoping that Vietnam will host us but according to the (Vietnam head) coach they have met with their officials and they had an
agreement that they’ll have arnis as one of the games,” said Zubiri on Tuesday.

“That’s a big step to be a regular sport in the SEAG. We need to have two consecutive (in the SEAG) to be a regular sport,” he added.

Still, Zubiri said a key meeting in March next year in Vietnam will determine if arnis is indeed going to make it.

Vietnam won four gold medals here while the remaining two were shared by Myanmar and Cambodia, the only other countries that took part in the SEAG.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Martin Sadongdong

The Philippine bowling team suffered yet another heartbreak as the men’s group came up short in the closing rounds during the first day of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games Bowling Championships held at the Coronado Lanes, Starmall EDSA in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday.

Patrick Neil Nuqui about to roll the ball during the first day of men’s bowling championships in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the Coronado Lanes, Starmall EDSA in Mandaluyong City, Dec. 3, 2019. (MB Photo / Alvin Kasiban)

Eighteen-year-old Patrick Neil Nuqui proved to be the national team’s best bet for a podium finish in the men’s singles match but he lost grip in the sixth and final round.

Nuqui wounded up at fifth place with 1,310 pinfalls.

Malaysia’s Timmy Tan used a strong start and rolled 225, 248 and 277 in the first three rounds as he brought home the gold medal with a total of 1,334 pinfalls.

He was followed by Thailand’s Annop Arromsaranon (1,331) who pocketed the silver medal and Singapore’s Cheah Ray Han (1,316) who took the bronze medal.

Nuqui had an unsteady start as he rolled 237, 194, 218 and 201 in the first four rounds.

However, he had a huge fifth round where he collected 257 pinfalls. This catapulted him to fourth place after being down from 12th spot.

Nuqui, the winner of the gold medal at the 1st Philippine bowling Federation (PBF) National Matchplay Open Championships in January 2019, thrilled the Filipino crowd as he trailed Arromsaranon — then sitting at third place — by only 36 pinfalls before the start of the final round.

However, Nuqui succumbed in the last round and failed to sustain his surging performance despite the cheers from Filipino fans. He scored 203 in the last round, which was not enough for a podium finish.

Nuqui’s teammates, Merwin Tan and Frederick Ong, were also haunted by slow starts while Kenneth Chua was not able to sustain his good opening rounds.

Chua was at third place during the first two rounds only to register a personal-low 193 pinfalls in the fourth round. This buried him at seventh place, and he never recovered.

In the end, Chua settled for eighth spot (1,284), Tan for 13th place (1,245) and Ong for 24th place (1,113).

Earlier, the Philippine women’s bowling team also failed to deliver in the women’s singles match.

Veteran kegler Maria Liza del Rosario led the team with a six-game series of 1,213 pinfalls for an eight place finish.

Marie Alexis Sy (1,202) followed at 11th place, Bea Katrina Hernandez (1,100) landed at the 17th spot, and Marian Lara Posadas-Wong (1,089) was at the 18th place.

The national bowling team will try their luck at the doubles event on Wednesday.

Source: Manila Bulletin