USED to polishing their stripes in local and international jousts, the black-gold-and-white army found little or no trouble in conquering the region’s sporting horizon as they lit up the Philippines’ medal chart once more in the 24th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held last December 6 to 16 at Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
Twenty-nine Thomasian hopefuls, bannered by 2008 Beijing Olympics qualifier Tshomlee Go, world bowling champion Biboy Rivera, lady poolshark Rubilen Amit, and UAAP MVP Jervy Cruz, took part in 13 out of 44 events, where the country plucked 41 golds, 91 silvers, and 96 bronzes to cap the 11-nation biennial sports spectacle at sixth place in the overall medal standings.
The Thomasian athletes locked horns with the neighboring countries’ finest crop in athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, billiards, bowling, football, fencing, judo, softball, table tennis, taekwondo, and wushu.
Coming off a successful Olympic qualifying engagement in Manchester, England last Sept. 28 to 30, the 26-year-old Go retained the gold he won in the 23rd SEA Games with an 8-6 beating of Vietnamese Min Hien Nguyen in the 67 kg. division.
Go’s Thomasian compatriots Alexander Briones, Esther Marie Singson, and Juan Mendoza, however, fell short of matching his golden effort, but still produced a silver and a pair of bronzes, respectively.
Seeking redemption after a floppy campaign in the World and Asian Olympic qualifiers, Briones took the silver in the 84 kg. class, while, the comebacking Singsoon, who was stripped of the gold medal she won in the 23rd SEA Games after being found positive for taking a weight-reducing tea that contained a banned substance, bagged the bronze in the women’s 55 kg. category. Mendoza, for his part, finished third in the 80 kg. division.
Manning the slot for the Philippines’ cause, Cruz averaged 10 points in five outings to help the nationals retain the basketball gold for the eight consecutive time.
Amit, a double gold-medalist in the Manila Sea Games two years ago, successfully defended her titles in the women’s 9-ball and 8-ball singles to underscore her fearsome billing in the region’s billiards circuit.
Also accounting for the Philippines’ gold-medal harvest was the women’s softball team composed of softbelles Emily and Esmeralda Tayag and Gedda Valencia.
Although the men’s baseball squad, led by Season 69 MVP Jon-Jon Robles and former Golden Sox Christian Canlas and Wilfredo Hidalgo, relinquished the gold it won in the 23rd SEA Games, the RP IX still ended up on the podium anyway with a silver to boot.
In fencing, 2005 SEA games silver medalist Gian Nocum, Ma. Wendyline Mendoza, Almarion Vizcayno, Mary Catherine Kong, Harlene Orendain and former Male coach Armando Bernal steered the UST-powered Philippine contingent to an impressive 3-6-6 gold-silver-bronze medal haul in both the team and individual categories.
Two days before the SEA Games officially began six-time world shooting champion Jethro “The Jet” Dionisio nailed the country’s first medal – a silver – in the trap hooting event where he joined forces with veteran marksmen Erwin Ong and Carlos Carag.
Rivera, the 2006 World Bowling Championships Master’s Champion, teamed up with Liza del Rosario in the mixed doubles event to pocket the silver, its only medal in the sport.
Former Female Trackster Janice Hung, the only UST-bred entry in wushu, failed to surpass her silver-medal output in the last SEA Games but still came home with a bronze this time in the Taijiquan (great extremes boxing) event.
Ex-Lady Judoka Karen Solomon clinched the bronze in the -60 kg. division.
The other Thomasian athletes who donned the national colors were former UST judoka Francis Villanueva, Lady Jin Katherine Bunyi, Lady Booter Josephine Luto, tracksters Junrey Bano and Benigno Marayag, badminton alumnus Alfredo Mailon Jr., Tiger Paddlers coach Henberd Ortalla, assistant coach Julius Esposo and former table tennis standout Harold Baring.
Meanwhile, Tigers assistant coach Beaujing Acot suited up for country’s basketball think-tank as one of head coach Junel Baculi’s court lieutenants.
