Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) veterans Nathaniel Perez and Christian Jester Concepcion captured the gold medal in their respective events in leg 2 of the National Open Fencing Championships held Wednesday, July 7, at the Superdome in Ormoc City.
Perez defeated top seed and fellow national team mainstay Michael Nicanor, 15-10, in the final round of the men’s foil event for his second gold medal in the weeklong meet.
On his way to the gold medal bout, Perez downed Prince John Francis Felipe in the quarterfinal, 15-13, after he earned a bye in the Round of 8, and UE’s Shawn Nicollei Felipe in the semifinal, 15-8.
On the other hand, Concepcion won against Donnie Arth Navarro, his same opponent in the title match during leg 1 over the weekend, with a score of 15-10 for his second gold medal in the men’s sabre category.
Prior to the final round, Concepcion edged Alvin Almonte of Republic Fencing, 15-7, in the round of 16, John Paul Dayro of Vicious Brainiac Fencing, 15-6, in the quarters, and national team member Eunice Daniel Villanueva, 15-11, in the semifinal.
The event also serves as a qualifying tournament for the national team for the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
Under the tournament format, gold medal winners will earn 12 points, while silver medalists get 10 points, bronze medal winners eight points, followed by the 5th to 6th with six points, 7th to 8th five points, 9th to 12th three points, 13th to 16th two points, and 17th to 32nd one point.
By winning the second leg, both Perez and Concepcion now have 24 points each in their respective events.
Lee Eigran Ergina, on the other hand, stunned first leg winner Noelito Jose Jr. 15-10 in the final round of the men’s epee.
The fourth seeded Ergina earned a bye in the Round of 32 before he scored a 15-6 win over Modern Pentathlon’s Gino Lamoste in the Round of 16, Rey Perez Jr. 15-14 in the quarterfinal, and top seed Jian Miguel Bautista 15-12 in the semifinal.
Meanwhile, top seed Janna Allysah Catantan of the University of Santo Tomas captured the gold medal in the junior women’s foil event by beating Eytria Olarez of UE 15-6.
Catantan, younger sister of top player in women’s foil Samantha Catantan, earned a bye in the first round before she Dominated UE’s Paulene Aubrey Fernandez 15-4 in the semifinals.
Olarte, on the other hand, won against schoolmate Margarette Eliah Gervacio in the other semifinal pairing 15-6 to book a spot in the final stage.
The event is organized by the Philippine Fencing Association (PFA), and supported by Ormoc City led by Mayor Richard Gomez – also the PFA president and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) second vice-president.