THE Philippine Table Tennis Federation hailed the performances of the national team in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games after a bronze medal finish in the men’s doubles event.
Philippine table tennis team performance at 32nd SEA Games
Richard Gonzales and John Russell Misal went home with a bronze after they bowed out in their semifinal match-up against eventual gold medalist Izaac Quec and Koen Pang of Singapore.
Other entries also displayed competitive matches, a reason for the PTFF to be optimistic in the coming tournaments.
“Aside from getting a bronze medal, we competed in four events, some of them reached the quarterfinals and came close to a medal as most of them were close matches,” said PTTF president Ting Ledesma.
“We are in the right direction and we will strive harder to produce more medals in the future,” said Ledesma.
Kheith Rhynne Cruz also saw action in the women’s singles and the women’s doubles along with RJ Fadol, and the women’s team with Fadol, Angel Laude, Emy Rose Dael, and Muse Balatbat.
Laude partnered with Edouard Valenet in the mixed doubles.
Ledesma said the federation is now gearing up for the Southeast Asian Table Tennis Association (SEATTA) juniors tournament next month.
In forming the national squad bound for the SEA Games, the PTTF staged a national selection in Puerto Princesa last March, pitting the competitors to several matches to determine the members of the team.
The PTTF also thanked the support of the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Abet Reyes of Prottec, and Bill Yap of Huaching Foundation in their SEA Games build-up.
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