SPORTS FACTS AND FIGURES 59: NESTHY PETECIO, CARLO PAALAM, AIRA VILLEGAS AND ROGEN LADON ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND OF THE OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 10 Mar 2024
Out of 10 boxers from the Philippines, only four survived as they won their respective bouts in the World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy and kept their hopes alive to clinch berths to the Paris Olympics in July.
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Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio outclassed German Nancy Canan Tas with a 5-0 unanimous decision that enabled her to enter the quarterfinals in the women’s 57-kilogram class. She will face Dutch Maud Van der Toorn, who was also splendid in her 5-0 victory over Spain's Jennifer Fernandez Romero.
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Petecio won all of her first three assignments either through stoppage or unanimous decision. Only the finalists in their category will qualify in the Paris Games.
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Another Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam, who drew an opening-round bye, grabbed a 3-1 decision over Mexican Andrey Bonilla and moved to the round-of-16 in the men’s 57kg.
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But in their category, he needs only to enter the semifinals to make it to the Summer Games. He has to snatch two more wins and in the next phase he will fight Turkmenistan’s Shukur Ovesov, a 3-2 winner over Iran’s Daniyal Shahbakhsh in the round of 16.
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Aira Villegas also needs two wins to book a ticket to Paris. She edged Canadian Mckenzie Wright, 3-2 in a tight contest in the women’s 50kg. She will next face Denmark’s Sofie Rosshaug.
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Rio Olympian Rogen Ladon also advanced to the men’s 51kg round-of-16 after he stopped Moroccan Mortaji in the second round in the men’s 51kg. He will trade blows against Great Britain’s Kiaran MacDonald in the next phase.
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Six of the 10 Filipino boxers namely Riza Pasuit, Hergie Bacyadan, John Marvin, Mark Ashley Fajardo, Ronald Chavez Jr., and Claudine Veloso lost and exited the competition.
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Dallas star Luka Doncic became the first player to record six straight 30-point triple-doubles as his team the Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 142-124. Doncic scored 39 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, breaking Russell Westbrook's five straight 30-point triple-doubles made in the 2016-17 season.
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The Slovenian All-star also added his own NBA record with a fifth straight triple-double including 35 or more points. He also grabbed three steals and a pair of blocked shots in a spectacular performance.
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Sports History: March 10, 1888. Heavyweight boxing champion John L. Sullivan drew with Charlie Mitchell in 39 rounds in France. The fight lasted for three hours and 11 minutes.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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