At A Glance
- BANGKOK — The Philippine boxing team is now assured of eight medals in the ongoing boxing events in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games following the victory of Jay Brian Baricuatro in the men's 48-kilograms quarterfinals at the Chulalongkorn University Sports Center on Thursday, Dec. 11 here.
BANGKOK — The Philippine boxing team is now assured of eight medals in the ongoing boxing events in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games following the victory of Jay Brian Baricuatro in the men’s 48-kilograms quarterfinals at the Chulalongkorn University Sports Center on Thursday, Dec. 11 here.
Baricuatro was simply too skilled for his Vietnamese opponent Linh Punh Nguyen, landing perfect combinations and power punches to score a convincing 5-0 victory.
With the win, Baricuatro has joined Ofelia Magno in the semifinals, assuring them of at least a bronze-medal finish in their respective weight classes.
They will join Hergie Bacyadan, Riza Pasuit, Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villegas, Eumir Marcial, and Weljon Mindoro with assured medals after drawing a bye in the first round and getting an outright semis seat.
Although assured of a huge medal haul, Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) secretary general Marcus Manalo stressed that the team has set its sight on nothing, but the gold medals
“May (eight) na tayo na assured bronze. Of course, you want a better color ‘di ba?,” said Manalo.
“Hindi naman okay na based on the draw lang ‘yung medal. Obviously, we'll take that but their job is to get to the podium even higher,” he added.
Others still vying for a spot in the final four are Mark Ashley Fajardo, Junmilardo Ogayre and Flint Jara.
Claudine Veloso, meanwhile, had a rough start to her SEAG boxing stint after dropping a tough 5-0 loss to Vo Ti Kim Anh in the women’s 54kg class.
Bacyadan will have the first shot at advancing to the finals when she takes on defending champion and Thai bet Manikon Baison in the women’s 70kg semifinals for an assured silver.