The Philippine fencing team continued to deliver in the Southeast Asian Fencing Federation Championships after bagging one silver and one bronze medal in the team event Saturday, Jan. 7, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Noelito Jose Jr., Jian Miguel Bautista, Rex Dela Cruz Jr. and Lee Eigran Ergina bowed to Vietnam, 45-42, to settle for the silver medal in the senior men’s epee team event while the Hannah Dominique Belarmino, Miyake Capina, Janna Allysah Catantan and Mariel Flores shared the bronze medal with Indonesia after finishing in the semifinals of the women’s team foil event.
Seeded second in the eight-team field, the PH men’s epee squad started its campaign with a 45-22 crushing of Brunei before downing third-ranked Indonesia, 45-32.
But the Filipino fencers encountered a strong challenge against the Vietnamese to fall short in their gold-medal bid.
The women’s foil crew, for its part, earned an opening-round bye before eventually losing to Thailand, 45-21, in the semis.
Vietnam went on to win the gold medal after a 45-41 victory over Thailand.
So far, the PH team has tallied two gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
The two gold medals came from Jose and Wilhelmina Lozada on opening day in the senior men’s epee and senior women’s foil, while Ormoc City’s Alexa Larrazabal claimed the bronze in the women’s epee last Friday, Jan. 6.