SPORTS FACTS AND FIGURES 61: NESTHY PETECIO AND AIRA VILLEGAS QUALIFY FOR PARIS OLYMPICS
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 12 Mar 2024
Petecio (L) and Villegas (R).
Nesthy Petecio, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, is headed for another Olympics as she earned a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Petecio pounded Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman with devastating blows to the body to enter the women’s 57kg finals at the 1st World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy.
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“I am so blessed. This is very important for me because maybe this is my last Olympics," Petecio was quoted by olympics.com when she became the first female boxer to earn two consecutive Olympic slots. It was the only split decision win for Petecio in the qualifiers after she won her first four bouts by either via unanimous decision or stoppage.
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Aira Villegas also booked an Olympic ticket with a unanimous decision victory over Bulgaria’s Zlatislava Chukanova in the women’s 50kg. Villegas was meted a point deduction in the second round and was knockdown in the third round but her hand speed and her consistent body shots got the approval of the judges.
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Petecio and Villegas will join fellow boxer and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial in the Paris Games together with pole vaulter EJ Obiena and gymnasts Carlo Yulo and Aleah Finnegan.
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“I got this ticket for so many people, especially my family, to God, and for our former President who died (past Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Ed Picson), and for my partner in life,’’ said Petecio, the 2019 World Championships gold medalist.
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Petecio lost the Olympic gold in Tokyo by unanimous decision in the finals to ferocious amateur rival Sena Irie of host Japan. "I will not stop until I get the Olympic gold medal,’’ declared Petecio as quoted by Rappler.
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Tokyo Olympics men’s featherweight silver medalist Carlo Paalam, light welterweight Mark Ashely Fajardo and women’s middleweight Hergie Bacyadan still have a chance in the second and last Paris Olympics qualifier in Bangkok, Thailand from May 23 to June 3.
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Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic finished with 35 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 steals, and 2 blocks. Per Basketball Reference's StatHead, such stats had never been recorded in NBA history, making Jokic the first player to achieve it.
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With the criteria of 35 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, and 5 steals, Jokic would join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Terry Cummings, and George McGinnis as the only four players in NBA history to post such figures.
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Sports History: March 12, 1985. Larry Bird scores Boston Celtic record 60 points. Bird exploded for a career-best 60 points in a 126-115 win against the Atlanta Hawks. He was unstoppable and finished 22-for-36 from the floor. Bird, then 28, scored 32 of his 60 points over a 14-minute span in the second half.
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