MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 14 May) — The Philippine boxing team won four gold medals, three of them courtesy of boxers from Mindanao, as the ring competition ended Sunday at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Cagayan de Oro’s Carlo Paalam, a silver medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, dominated Indonesia’s Aldoms Suguro in the 54 kg class.
Another Tokyo 2020 silver medalist, Nesthy Petecio of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur also pocketed the gold via unanimous decision against another Indonesian fighter in the women’s 57kg bout.
‘But Nesthy’s younger brother, Norlan Petecio, bowed to Bunjong Sinsiri of Thailand in the men’s 67kg category.
Paul Julyfer Bascon of Davao del Norte returned the favor by beating his Thai opponent, Rujakran Juntrong in the men’s 60kg class.
Ian Clark Bautista scored an impressive victory against Asri Udin, also of Indonesia, in the men’s 57kg class. The Indonesian was given a standing 8-count in the final round.
Four other Filipino finalists in boxing settled for silver — John Marvin (men’s 80kg), Roger Ladon (men’s 51kg), Olympian Irish Magno (women’s 54kg), and Risa Pasuit (women’s 63kg).
The SEA Games will end on May 17. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)
