HANGZHOU - Tennis came through anew on yet another slow day for Team PH in the 19th Asian Games.
The mixed team of Alex Eala and Francis Casey Alcantara bagged the bronze medal after losing to the Chinese Taipei pair of Liang En-Shuo and Huang Tsung-hao, 5-7, 3-6, in their semifinal match.
READ: Niño Alcantara, Alex Eala end up with bronze after semis loss
The bronze was the first mixed double medal for a PH contingent since Patricia Yngayo and Federico Deyro bagged the silver in the 1966 edition of the meet.
The 18-year-old Eala also became the first Filipino multiple medal winner in this Asiad.
The latest bronze is the sixth for Team PH, which also has a silver medal to boot courtesy of wushu's Arnel Mandal.
It likewise softened the impact of the 4-1 loss suffered by Olympic silver medalist Nesthy Petecio to Chinese Taipei rival Lin Yu Ting in the women's 57 kg class.
While Team Philippines continues to struggle, China breached the 100 gold barrier as it tallied 105 golds, 63 silvers, and 32 bronzes.
Japan dislodged Korea in second place with 27-35-37, with the Sokors at close third with 26-28-48.
India now occupies fourth place with 8-12-13 while Thailand is at fifth place with 8-3-9.
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