At A Glance
- Rising star Jonathan Reyes spearheaded Kayod Pilipinas' haul of two gold medals in the 9th Southeast Asian Squash Championships in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday, July 23.
Jemyca Aribado (Philippine Squash Academy, Inc.)
Rising star Jonathan Reyes spearheaded Kayod Pilipinas’ haul of two gold medals in the 9th Southeast Asian Squash Championships in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday, July 23.
Reyes, 19, formed a lethal 1-2 combo with Christopher Buraga and routed Malaysians Ethan Kuan and Yuan Xin Li, 11-1, 11-9, to capture the U21 men’s jumbo doubles crown.
Before their title win, Reyes and Buraga took an early bye then toppled Malaysia’s SWK Harith Danial and Muhammad Razi, 11-10, 11-4, to book their final ticket.
The other gold came from U21 mixed jumbo double category where Reyes tagged along with the 16-year-old Aerra Relano as the duo brushed off a second-set hiccup to score an 11-8, 8-11, 11-7 triumph over Malaysia’s Danial and Anne Goh.
Just like in the men’s class, the Filipino pair had a first-round bye before pulling off an 11-1, 11-7 victory against Indonesians Kaltim Achmad Fauzi and Raifa Putri Yattaqi.
Meanwhile, seasoned smasher Jemyca Aribado suffered a 6-11, 7-11, 11-13 loss to Singapore’s Wai Yhann Au Yeong to settle for silver medal in the women's singles finale.
Prior to her bridesmaid finish, Aribado listed a first-round bye and then scored an 11-4, 8-11, 1-11, 11-7, 11-8 escape over compatriot Aerra Jc Mae Relano in the following round.
In the men’s singles division, Reymark Begornia took home bronze after yielding to Malaysian Duncan Lee, 9–11, 7–11, 9–11, in the semis.
In total, the Nationals copped two golds, one silver and one bronze.