SEAG UPDATES: Ferrera, Oakley in record-breaking show, Villarito also triumphs
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 14 Dec 2009
Airman Arniel Ferrera threw the steel hammer in a new golden Southeast Asian Games record and Rosie Villarito ruled the women?s javelin as the Filipino track and field campaigners opened what is expected a bumper harvest in the 25th edition of the biennial conclave Sunday at the National Stadium in the capital Laotian city of Vientiane.
Fil-Am swimmer Daniel Coakley, not to be outdone, likewise, swam the 50-meter freestyle in record time over at the aquatic center of the newly-built state-of-the-art sports center.
The 6-foot-2 great grandson of 1928 Amsterdam Olympian Teofilo Yldefonso celebrated his 20th birthday in splashing his way to 22.69 seconds in repeating as 50m freestyle champion erasing his previous SEAG standard 22.76 he set in the biennial meet?s 2007 edition in Thailand and highlighting the Filipinos? three-gold haul for the day.
Ferrera, winner of his favorite event since 2003 in Vietnam, heaved to 61.62 meters, the farthest in the discipline in the 50-year history of what started as the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, on the way to claiming his fourth straight title.
The effort bettered her old 60.98 mark made two years ago in Thailand during the 24th edition of the games.
?Maganda ho ang kundisyon ko kaya maganda rin ang naging resulta,? quipped the 28-year-old champion from Cauyan, Negros Occidental, who has been assured of a spot promotion that would make him sergeant of the Philippine Air Force.
One hour later, the muscle-bound 30-year-old Villarito, hurled the fiberglass spear javelin to a 49..69m, three meters better that her closest pursuer as he and Ferrera saved the 251-athlete delegation for wht could have been a shutout.
Triple jumper Joebert Delicano, one of 11 runners, jumpers and throwers not funded by the government?s Philippine Sports Commission, hopped, stepped and jumped to 16.12, good for a bronze behind Thailand?s 1-3 top finishers T. Philakong ( 16.51) and V. Kongnil turned (16.29).
Julius Sermona added an athletics bronze with a 14:59.85 in the 5,000 run which was won by Myanmar?s Ong Kaing who submitted a 14:43.12.
The Philippines? three-gold medal harvest for the day carried the Filipinos past Laos in sixth place in the overall standing with an 11-15-19 gold-silver-bronze winnings against the hosts? 11-4-18.
As dust gathered in all competition venues, Thailand and Vietnam were still jockeying for top spot with 25-32-36 and 25-20-24, respectively, while Singapore had 20-10-21 at third, Malaysia 17-20-28 at fourth and Indonesia 15-16-25 at fifth.
Myanmar was a distant eighth with 5-8-21, Cambodia was next with 2-4-8 while Brunei only had a silver medal and five bronze while Timor Leste, which sent the smallest delegation, had three bronze.
Filipino divers Nino Carog and Zardo Domenios produced RP?s lone silver medal for the day in the 3m springboard (synchronized) with a 366.96 behind Malaysia?s Bryan Nickson and Ken Nee Yeoh (406.32) and barely ahead of bronze medallists Noor Husaini and Jam Jami Akhmad of Indonesia (336.69).
At the halfway mark of women?s team golf, the Philippines trio of Chichiro Ikeda, Maria Imelda Piccio and Dotie Ardina rallied from four strokes down and assembled a 285 for a one stroke over overnight leader Thailand and five against Malaysia.
Ikeda remained at second in individual play merely two strokes behind K. Yupaporn of Thailand who had a 138 total after two rounds. Ardina was at sixth with 148 and Piccio?s 151 placed her at ninth in the cast of 20.
The RP men?s team(637) was at third in the penultimate round within striking distance of the gold medal behind Thailand (633), Singapore (634) but in individual play the highest ranking Filipino?Mark Fernando- is at eighth spot (214) six off Thai S. Wasin (208). Antonio Asistio was 11th with 215 and Jonel Ababa was at 216 for 13th place in a field of 36.
Another bronze came in from weightlifting through Renante Briones who totalled 285.00 in the 94 kgs division final won by W. Suthipon of Thailand with a commanding 360.00. Malaysia?s Mohd Faiz was silver medallist with 300.00.
In the 85 kgs weight class, Christopher Bureros merely lifted a total 275 in snatch, and clean and jerk, ending up fourth behind winner Pitaya Tibnoke of Thailand (332.00).
Female entry Angelica Lado (60 kgs.) was likewise way off the 261.00 of gold medallist Zay Zay Latt of Malaysia as she could only lift 176.00, good only for fourth.
Pressed for contribution after the fall of their more senior big guns Efren ?Bata? Reyes and Django Bustamante the billiards team closed in on the 8-ball pool single event where Gandy Valle and former world champion Ronato Alcano both advanced to the semifinal round.
(Eddie Alinea?s articles also appear in the PHILIPPINE GAZETTE)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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