HANGZHOU – Sepak Takraw made its mark for Team Philippines in the 19th Asian Games, winning its first-ever medal in the continental meet on Tuesday.
Team Philippines results 19th Asian Games October 3
The men’s quadrant of Jason Huerte, Rheyjey Ortouste, Vince Alyson Torno, and Mark Joseph Gonzales lost to Indonesia in the semifinals, 21-15, 24-25, 17-19, to settle for the bronze at the Jinhua Sports Centre gymnasium.
Other members of the team include Jon Rafael and Ronsited Gabayeron.
The bronze finish was the first for the national sepak takraw team since the sport made its debut in the 1990 Asiad.
“This medal is 33 years in the making since the sport inclusion in 1990, making the podium finish extra sweet for our NSA,” said sepak takraw head Karen Tanchanco, who is also deputy Chef De Mission of Team Philippines.
The medal came on yet another dry spell for the Filipino contingent that also saw the loss of Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam in the men’s 57 kg of boxing later in the night.
The latest bronze raised the country’s tally to 1-1-9 and remained at 20th place.
Gilas Pilipinas brought cheers to the country’s campaign as coach Tim Cone and the national team endured a huge fourth quarter comeback by Iran, 84-83, to advance in the semifinals of the men’s basketball earlier in the day.
The Filipinos face the daunting task of playing defending champion and host China in the Final Four to earn a shot of winning the gold which the country last won in 1962 yet.
Also the men’s 4x400 meter relay team anchored by Umajesty Williams and Michael Del Prado, entered the finals by submitting a new Philippine record of 3:06.15 seconds.
Hardly was there a drastic move in the overall medal standings as China continues to show the way with 159 golds, 87 silvers, and 45 bronzes.
The Chinese had been dominant from the very beginning that the combined golds of second placer Japan (33-46-50), South Korea (32-42-64), India (14-26-28), and Uzbekistan (14-15-21) still pales in comparison to the total gold output of the host.
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