LOOK: Top photos of Manila Bulletin in the 30th Southeast Asian Games for Dec. 1, 2019

Featuring:

• Agatha Wong defends wushu title, Daniel Parantac bags bronze
• Carlos Yulo puts on a show to capture individual all-around gold
• John Chicano delivers first SEAG gold for PH, Kim Remolino settles for silver
• Wushu, triathlon, dancesport sparkle for Team PH

Source: Manila Bulletin

 

By Kristel Satumbaga

 

AJ Lim kept his medal bid alive in men’s singles while Treat Huey and Denise Dy crashed out in the mixed doubles event of the tennis competitions on Monday in the 30^th Southeast Asian Games at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Lim survived eighth seed Muhammad Shaheed Alam Bin Meqsud of Singapore 7-6 (2), 6-4 to barge into the quarterfinals that also has fifth ranked Jeson Patrombon, who earlier toppled Satapron Simmalavong of Laos 6-1, 6-1.

The 20-year-old former top local junior netter next faces Kasidit Samrej of Thailand, who advanced via a 7-5, 6-2 win over Indonesia’s Ari Fahresi.

Not so fortunate were Huey and Dy, winners of their event in the 2015 Singapore edition, after falling short to top seed Aidila Sutjadi and Christopher Rungkat of Indonesia 6-7 (2), 6-3, 13-11, in the quarterfinals

Also making an exit in the mixed doubles were Francis Casey Alcantara and Khim Iglupas, who yielded to Tamarine Tanasugarn and Sanchai Ratiwatana of Thailand 6-4, 7-5.

Clarice Patrimonio was also shown the door in the women’s singles quarterfinal at the expense of Vietnam’s Savannah Ly Nguyen 6-3, 6-3.

Action resumes Tuesday with Lim facing Samrej, and Patrombon meeting Moh Adam Das of Malaysia.

Patrombon and Alcantara will also see action in the men’s doubles round of 16, as well as the women’s doubles pairs of Dy and Iglupas, and Marian Capadocia and Shaira Rivera.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Joseph Pedrajas 

Philippine wushu bet Jones Inso made a memorable first Southeast Asian Games campaign after striking the silver during the men’s taijijian competition in the 30th SEAG on Monday at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Inso, 22, logged 9.65 points behind Malaysia’s Choon How Loh 9.68 in taolu’s straight-sword. Brunei’s Hosea Yu came in third with 9.6.

“I do not have any expectations. What I only had in mind was to deliver what we trained amid difficulties and to do my best,” said Inso.

He performed second to last, but said he felt no pressure, unlike what he went through during his previous performance in taijiquan.

“Actually, I was more nervous yesterday because I felt the pressure from the audience,” said three-year national athlete.

“Today, my muscles already loosened up to perform.”

Inso’s last event will be the duilian competition today.

In men’s daoshu, Philippines’ Johnzenth Gajo, who was third to perform, had a good start with 9.63. He eventually fell out of contention, however, after the three last performers — Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam — made it to the top.

Meanwhile, the country’s bet in men’s nangun competition, Thornton Sayan, placed only fourth after garnering 9.60 points. Brunei secured the gold while Indonesia and Vietnam won the silver and bronze, respectively.

Also performing today are Sayan in nanquan and duilian, Johnzenth Gajo in gunshu and dulian, and women’s taijiquan gold medalist Agatha Wong in taijijian.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

The Philippines ruled the inaugural men’s and women’s 3×3 competitions with convincing victories Monday in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at The Arena in San Juan.

PBA players CJ Perez, Mo Tautuaa, Chris Newsome and Jason Perkins downed Indonesia 21-9 for the men’s gold while Afril Bernardino, Jack Animam, Janine Pontejos and Clare Castro exacted revenge on Thailand 17-13 to rule the distaff side.

Both teams had contrasting runs to the gold, with the men’s squad winning all eight matches and the women’s side having to overcome losing to Thailand in overtime 22-20 during the last game of the preliminaries.

Playing the starring roles in the finals were Perez and Bernardino, who dazzled the predominantly Filipino crowd with the individual skills.

Perez, rookie star of the Columbian Dyip, scored nine points, including a right-handed dunk over an Indonesian defender that sent loud cheers a predominantly Filipino crowd.

His performance was perhaps a fitting conclusion to a memorable 2019 for Perez, who aside from emerging as one of the strong candidates for the PBA Rookie of the Year but also made a strong impression for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA World Cup in China.

Bernardino made majority of her 10 points by the attacking lane as the Philippines was able to take control after trailing for the final time at 5-4.

Behind Bernardino, the Philippines bagged its first gold in any women’s basketball competitions of the biennial meet.

A historic gold in the standard five-on-five event will be doubly sweet for the national cagebelles, who will start their campaign on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Olympic Council of Asia vice president Wei Jizhong of China yesterday suggested the Philippines should consider bidding for “bigger events” like the 2030 Asian Games after his first-hand experience with the ongoing 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Wei shared his detailed observations during a press briefing at the World Trade Center, the media conference tackling topics ranging from the spectacular opening ceremony at the Philippine Arena last Saturday to the many little details such as the world-class facilities, guidebooks, traffic, venue and volunteer hospitality.

“The Philippine Arena is perhaps a unique arena in the world. We witnessed the enthusiasm of all athletes, and showed the excellent tradition of the SEA Games so far,” he said.

“This means that Philippines is capable to organize bigger-scale Games.”

Wei cited the attitude of the Filipino people towards sports as among the major factors that impressed him. He shared that he attended the ice hockey event at the Mall of Asia Ice Rink and was surprised that the venue was packed with spectators even if the sport is not as popular as others like basketball.

Wei also said the glitches in the early days of the competition are normal, as other host nations have also experienced it.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Bambol Tolentino welcomed the idea, saying: “Wala namang masamang sumubok. I-evaluate pa nila yan.”

The next Asian Games hosts have already been named with Hangzhou, China hosting the 19th edition in 2022 and Nagoya, Japan hosting the 20th edition in 2026.

Vietnam, meanwhile, will host the 31^st edition of the SEA Games in 2021.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

John Derick Farr and Lea Denise Belgira claimed gold in the men’s and women’s downhill mountain bike competitions of the 30th Southeast Asian Games held Monday morning at Barangay Niyugan in Laurel, Batangas.

The 23-year-old Farr ruled the men’s side in two minutes and 41.133 seconds, edging compatriot Eleazar Barba Jr. by 1.360 seconds and Indonesia’s Andy Prayoga by 6.725 seconds.

Belgira, also 23, won the distaff side with a time of 3:09.781 to beat Indonesia’s Tiari Andini Prastika by 7.205 seconds and Thailand’s Vipavee Deekaballes by 7.826.

Their victory made up for the derailed gold medal bids in Sunday’s cross country event that saw Nino Surban settling for silver, Avegail Rombaon getting bronze and favorite Ariana Dormitorio failing to finish the race due to a crash.

The two Filipino riders conquered the 1.5-kilometer trail known as “Tatlong Bungo” to help the Philippines add to its gold medal harvest.

Farr was also the fastest among the eight cyclists who started, posting an average speed of 33.51 kilometers per hour.

Belgira had an average speed of 28.45 km/hour to key her victory.

Pamela Jane Ruiz, the other Filipino rider in the women’s category, finished last with a time of 5:20.773.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

Evan Fournier’s turnaround season is helping the Orlando Magic in the win column.

Fournier matched a career high with 32 points that included the game-deciding basket, lifting the Magic over the Golden State Warriors 100-96 on Sunday night.

Fournier, who had a dismal shooting season last year, was 13-for-21 shooting, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range against the Warriors. His biggest basket came with 9.3 seconds left in the game and Orlando clinging to a 96-95 lead.

Fournier went one-on-one with Draymond Green, a former defensive player of the year. He beat Green off the dribble and continued through a wall of interior defenders to lay the ball in and give the Magic a 98-95 advantage.

“That was a great play,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “He’s not just scoring for us, he’s scoring efficiently, I mean 32 points on 21 shots, that’s efficient offense.”

“This was a big-time win,” Fournier said. “There are more opportunities for me (because of injuries) and coach (Steve Clifford) calls my name more. I’m trying to make the right play.”

Terrence Ross came off the bench to score 19 points for the Magic, who struggled to make a shot. Orlando shot 42.5% (37 of 87), but the combination of Fournier’s shooting and solid team defense were enough to get the win.

Jonathan Isaac had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Markelle Fultz contributed 14 points and nine assists for Orlando.

Glenn Robinson III led Golden State with 19 points. Eric Paschall scored 17 points and Alec Burks 15 for the Warriors, who had all five starters score in double figures, yet lost for the fifth time in six games.

Golden State was down six going into the final minute and trimmed the deficit to 96-95 on a 3-pointer by Burks with 33 seconds to play.

The Magic called on Fournier, and he drove around Green and through the heart of the Warriors defense to make a layup that gave Orlando a 98-95 lead with 9.7 seconds left.

Burks hit one free throw to make it a two-point game and had one more attempt, but missed a 3-point try from the corner in the final second.

Aaron Gordon’s two free throws pushed the final margin to four.

“Tonight was a really good fight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We were able to compete, and we defended like crazy. We couldn’t do that against anybody in the first part of the season, so that’s an improvement. We’ll get over the hump, but it’s just not there yet.”

The fourth quarter was back-and-forth, with neither side able to get more than a three-point lead until Ross drained a 3-pointer from the wing to make it 93-89 with 1:23 left in the game. Orlando increased its lead to six when Khem Burch made two free throws, but Golden State wasn’t done.

The Warriors made three of four free throws and Burks drilled a 3-pointer to make it 96-95 with 33 seconds left.

Golden State couldn’t finish off the rally from there.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

Chris Paul has seen just about everything in his 15-plus season.

So, when it was a matter of who would take control of a tight game down the stretch against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, the 34-year-old Oklahoma City point guard simply drew on his deep memory bank and put everything on cruise control.

With the Thunder trailing 94-89 with 5:15 left, Paul scored seven of his 16 points in a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to power Oklahoma City to a 107-104 victory over the Pelicans.

Danilo Gallinari led the Thunder with 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 17 points each. Adams also had 10 rebounds.

But it was Paul who took over the game when the Thunder needed someone to step up.

“I don’t know. It’s just winning time,” Paul said of the critical sequence that followed Lonzo Ball’s fourth 3-pointer of the game, which gave New Orleans its biggest lead of the game. “Fortunately, I’ve been in that situation a thousand times. If you’re (not double-teamed), you go downhill and be aggressive. If you’re doubled, you try to make the right play.”

Paul started his streak with a pair of 15-footers near the free-throw line and then nailed a deep, fallaway, 3-pointer from the right baseline over the outstretched arms of onrushing 6-foot-11 New Orleans rookie center Jaxson Hayes, which gave the Thunder a 101-94 lead.

“I was just reacting,” Paul said. “I’ve shot that shot probably seven times straight and missed it, so I was probably lucky.

Said Adams: “I didn’t even see Chris. He just disappeared.”

The ball went in. On the Thunder’s next possession, Paul fed Adams in the lane with a slick pick-and-roll pass, and Adams, shooting just 40% from the foul line this season, made both free throws. Adams made 3 of 4 down the stretch and finished the game 5 of 6.

“My eyes were closed every time, mate,” Adams said, laughing. “I was actually aiming for the top right corner of the backboard.”

Thunder coach Billy Donovan said his team’s second consecutive victory over the Pelicans – the result of good decision-making in the final five minutes of the game – was a credit to Paul’s expertise running the show.

“Steven and Chris in the pick and roll in the middle of the floor was really good closing the game,” Donovan said. “I thought Chris did a great job managing the clock and managing the game and getting guys where they needed to go.”

Jrue Holiday had 26 points for New Orleans, Brandon Ingram added 20, and Josh Hart had 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Pelicans have lost five in a row.

New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said he was puzzled by the disparity in free throws – the Thunder took 26 foul shots to the Pelicans’ 10 — but added his team has to learn how to finish games. In a 109-104 loss to the Thunder on Friday night, the Pelicans went scoreless over the final 2:48.

“We just have to close games,” Gentry said. “Their star player, CP (Chris Paul), made plays for them, and that is what stars do, but we have to get it in the basket.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

Luka Doncic scored 21 of his 27 points in a dynamic second half, Kristaps Porzingis added 15 points and the Dallas Mavericks snapped the Los Angeles Lakers’ 10-game winning streak with a 114-100 victory Sunday.

Doncic also had 10 assists and nine rebounds, and Delon Wright had 17 points and nine assists in the Mavericks’ seventh victory in eight games.

Dallas underlined its status as a likely title contender with an inspired second half on the road against the NBA-leading Lakers, who had lost only once in 18 games since their season opener.

Anthony Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, and LeBron James had 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, They dropped to 17-3.

The Mavs erased a halftime deficit with a 28-5 run to open the third quarter, shredding the Lakers’ usually solid defense. Dallas’ decisive rally was led by a majestic quarter from Doncic, who had 16 points and five assists in the third after going 2 for 9 in the first half.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Members of the women’s billiards team led by Chezka Centeno and Rubilen Amit are setting their sights on forging an all-Filipino finals in all three events of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Multi-time gold medalists Centeno and Amit will take part in the 9-ball and 10-ball singles while also teaming up in the 9-ball doubles of the event which starts Tuesday at The Manila Hotel Tent.

Former double gold winner Irish Ranola will join forces with debutant Floriza Andal as the second Philippine team in 9-ball doubles.

Centeno is eyeing a third straight gold in 9-ball after beating Amit twice in the finals of the past two editions of the biennial meet.

Amit has actually settled for silver in the last four editions, though she’s more motivated in assuring another showdown with Centeno for gold.

“Of course kami naman ni Chezka we want to win the gold. Pag laban, laban talaga,” Amit said. “Basta it’s a team effort, pag nakapasok kami sa finals then good and kung sino ang palarin sa match na yun, siya mananalo ng gold.

“Basta ang pinaka-importante is to take care of both sides. She’ll take care of her side and I’ll take care of my side,” the two-time world champion added.

The 20-year-old Centeno is likewise eager to meet see another face-off with her mentor.

“Sana po kami ulit maglaban para masaya,” said Centeno, who beat Amit for the first time in the 2015 Singapore Games with a 7-5 decision before rallying from a three-rack deficit to win 7-6 in the 2017 Kuala Lumpur edition.

They’ll be also looking to make it an all-PH affair for the gold in the 9-ball doubles with Ranola and Andal in what seemed like a teacher and student partnership.

Ranola will have bigger responsibilities as she will try to help Andal, a snooker specialist, get her feet wet in billiards.

“Pag nagkaroon po kami ng chance sa gold, I’ll make sure na madadala ko po teammate ko,” said Ranola, who claimed the 8-ball and 9-ball singles golds in the 2011 edition held in Palembang.’

“Mas matagal na po akong naglalaro sa SEA Games, yung partner ko first time pa lang. Mabait at masunurin po ang partner ko. Sabi niya, ako na daw bahala at makikinig naman po siya,” she added.

Andal made the roster after making a good impression during the qualifier for SEA Games spot earlier in the year.

The SEA Games had actually eluded Andal for years, falling short in previous qualifiers.

“Actually limang SEA Games na po ang dumadaan na di ako nakakasali. Siguro twice na po akong nakasali sa qualifier pero di ako nakapasok and wala pong snooker events sa SEA Games kaya excited po ako maglaro ngayon,” said Andal.

Source: Manila Bulletin