Cebuano Athletes Add 2 Golds, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze to SEAG Haul

Cebuano members of the national team had a field day in the second day of competition of the Southeast Asian Games, winning two gold medals and a silver medal, while two members of the women’s rugby team earned a bronze medal in Singapore.

Veteran billiards player Warren Kiamco, who is from Pasil, Cebu, and Carlo Biado beat Vietnam, 9-6, to win the gold medal in the men’s 9-ball doubles, the first medal for the veteran-laden billiards team that also has the legendary Efren “Bata” Reyes.

The tournament followed an alternate break format, and the Philippine team had to keep its errors minimal to take a 6-3 lead. Vietnam got within 7-6 on a couple of dry breaks by the Philippines but the Pinoys sealed the deal by taking the final two racks.

Reigning Asian junior champion Kiyomi Watanabe, whose mother is from Cebu, defeated Orapin Senatham of Thailand via ippon to win the gold medal in judo.

On the other hand, Cebu’s running pride Mary Joy Tabal, the reigning Milo Marathon women’s champion got a silver medal in her SEA Games debut, finishing second to Thailand’s Natthaya Thanaronnawat last Sunday.

Tabal, who has a personal best of 2:48 in the 42-kilometer race, finished the rain-soaked event in 3 hours, 4 minutes and 39 seconds, 46 seconds off the gold medalist. Vietnam’s Thi Thanh Hoang got the bronze medal in 3:07:14.

The Cebuana, who skipped fun run events in Cebu for the past two months to focus on her SEA GAmes stint, admitted that she could have gone for the gold medal but didn’t risk it as she was feeling her body break down in the final three kilometers.

“I had a chance to break away from the pack after the frist half of the race because the pace was slow,” said Tabal, who is coached by Philip Duenas. “But I remembered coach Philip’s advice to take it slow and maintain the pace and wait for the 30-kilometer mark before I run at my own pace.”

Tabal said the downpour and the strong headwind added some difficulty, which was compounded by her unfamiliarity of the place.

“My body started to collapse in the last three kilometers and I felt dizzy, that was when the Thai took the lead,” said Tabal.

Duenas, who was monitoring his ward, shouted at Tabal in the final two kilometers to stay close because the Thai was slowing down.

“But I was afraid that if I keep on pushing, I might not finish the rae and collapse in the middle of the course,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that at least I can deliver a podium finish. I was happy with my performance and this is the biggest win of my career.”

Despite dominating the Philippine running scene for the past two years, it was only this year that Tabal was invited to join the national team.

Tabal’s silver was the first medal for the Philippine athletics team, whose men’s marathon entries–Eduardo Buenavista and Rafael Panique–failed to win a medal.

Meanwhile, former Abellana National School standout athletes Auimi Ono and Madelle Salinas helped the women’s rugby team earn a bronze medal in rugby 7s after beating Malaysia, 22-0. The women’s team was playing in the SEA Games for the first time.

Four more Cebuano members of the national team have yet to see action in the SEA Games–Rheyjey Ortouste of Sepak Takraw, Rinna Babanto of taekwondo and Alexis Sy and Jomar Jumapao of bowling. All four are expected to win at least a bronze medal.

The Philippines currently sits at a woeful seventh place in the medal tally with six golds, eight silver and 15 bronze medals in the biennial meet.

Host Singapore lead with a 26-20-37 haul and is followed by Vietnam (21-8-20), Thailand (20-24-19), Indonesia (12-11-16), Malaysia (8-16-15) and Myanmar (7-10-8). (PNA) FPV/EB/MP/EDS