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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Laurance dazzles on the sand; Gilas stuns China

Laurance dazzles on the sand; Gilas stuns China

Published Apr 25, 2026 02:08 pm

At A Glance

  • SANYA, China — Jessica Laurance dazzled on the sand track and delivered the second medal for the Philippine athletics team on the beautiful man-made Phoenix Island just as the Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 team stunned host China at the Sanya Gymnasium in the 6th Asian Beach Games on Saturday, April 25 here.

SANYA, China —  Jessica Laurance dazzled on the sand track and delivered the second medal for the Philippine athletics team on the beautiful man-made Phoenix Island just as the Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 team stunned host China at the Sanya Gymnasium in the 6th Asian Beach Games on Saturday, April 25 here.

The Filipina-Australian clocked 7.52 seconds to claim the bronze medal in the women’s 60-meter event in the beach athletics — just less than a second behind Thailand’s Jirapat Khanonta, who secured the gold in 7.46 seconds, and China’s Jialu Xu, who took the silver in 7.49 seconds.

Although first time running on the sand, the 22-year-old did impress for Team PH even placing second overall during the heats with a time of 7.50 sec.

“I think I executed quite well. I would have loved to win, but the competition was tough. It was a great first experience,” said Laurance, who traces her roots to Tanay, Rizal.

“I wanted to push them and make them chase me, but that’s just how races go. I’m still happy with how I ran and proud of the bronze,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Gilas Pilipinas men’s 3x3 team opened its campaign with a rousing victory over host China, 21-19.

Nic Cabanero exploded for nine points for Gilas including a huge layup that broke an 18-all count with 55 seconds left. He was also fouled during the process, and with the hosts already with seven fouls was rewarded with two free-throws.

The University of Sto. Tomas standout then coolly sank the two freebies to pull off the massive upsets.

The Nationals picked up from where they left off and defeated Macao, China, 21-18, to go 2-0 in the Group A standings. Former PBA 3x3 star Jeff Manday delivered the dagger floater to finish with five points while Cabanero still led the way with seven.

Over at the Sanya Bay Photography Club, the PH aquathlon team finished fifth in the 4x4 mixed relay. The team composed of Raven Alcoseba, Emil Lorbes, Erika Burgos and Kim Remolino clocked 1:05.62.

Likewise, the PH dragon boat team ended up fifth in the men’s 200m race at the Sanya River.  

The Nationals finished at the fourth spot in the semifinal after clocking 51.224 seconds, relegating them to the classification round. 

The team then defeated Hong Kong in the minor final with a time of 52.118secs to claim the fifth place for the second straight day. 

Related Tags

Gilas Pilipinas Gilas 3x3 Asian Beach Games Jessica Laurence beach athletics
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