By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Soft tennis player Joseph Arcilla provided the spark early Wednesday for Team Philippines after capturing the gold medal in men’s singles in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the National Olympic Stadium here.
Combining power and guile, Arcilla dominated his rivals on the way to winning his first singles gold after settling for a bronze in the 2011 edition held in Palembang, Indonesia.
In winning the gold, he caught Muhammad Hemat Bhakti Anugerah off-guard most of the time with some deceptive shots. He also produced some wicked shots for the 4-1 win to the delight of his supporters.
He first squeaked past hometown bet Yi Keavirak, 4-3, before beating Bekki Vongphakdy of Laos, 4-1, and Thailand’s Kawin Yannarit, 4-1,
It could have been a double celebration for Team Philippines if only Bambi Zoleta managed to sustain her fiery start.
Tired and all due to extreme heat, Zoleta suffered a heart-breaking 4-3 (7-4) loss to Indonesia’s Dwi Rahayu Pitri in a contest that thrilled both camps.
She first routed Cambodia’s Meth Mariyan, 4-1; Thailand’s Napawee Jankiaw, 4-2, and Timor Leste’s Albertina De Sousa, 4-0, before yielding to Pitri.
The PH soft tennis team so far has three gold medals after also winning in the women’s team event and women’s doubles courtesy of Zoleta’s sister, Bien Mañalac, and Princess Catindig.
As of 4 p.h, Team PH has 26 gold, 40 silver and 49 bronze medals.
Vietnam emerged as the new leader with 42 golds, 41 silver and 52 bronzes, followed by Thailand with 41-30-50.
Host Cambodia slipped from top to third with 39 golds, 39 silvers and 45 bronzes, followed by Indonesia at fourth with 29-26-54.
Pencak silat bet Dines Dumaan accounted for the day’s first silver after losing badly to Indonesia’s Khoirudin Mustakim, 43-25, in the men’s tanding class A (45-50kg) at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center.
Dumaan’s feat came an hour after Filipina shuttlers bowed to Indonesia, 3-0, in the semifinal to settle for the bronze medal in the team event at the Morodok Techo National Stadium.
Mikaela Joy De Guzman yielded to Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi, 21-13, 21-5, in the first singles before Airah Mae Nicole Albo and Thea Marie Pomar succumbed to Febriana Kusuma and Amallia Pratiwi, 21-11, 21-12, in the doubles.
The engine in the team’s stunning win over Malaysia, Bianca Carlos put on a valiant fight but her best was not enough, absorbing a 21-19, 21-9 defeat to Ester Wardoyo.
Still, the PH shuttlers were happy with their performance – their bronze being the country’s first since Ronel Estanislao and Joper Escueta bagged the men’s doubles bronze in the 2015 edition held in Singapore.
Boxing, as expected, provided the other good news for the day as Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio and four others are going for finals berths, and so are swimmers Jonathan Cook (men’s 200m breaststroke), Jarold Jatch (men’s 50m butterfly), Jasmine Alkhaldi and Teia Salvino (women’s 50m freestyle).
Salvino, along with long jumper Janry Ubas and the women’s soft tennis tennis team delivered gold medals late Tuesday, May 10.
Salvino ruled the women’s 100m backstroke in record-breaking fashion, timing 1 minute and 1.64 seconds to eclipse the PH mark of 1:02.70 held by Chloe Isleta at last year’s ASEAN University Games in Thailand, as well as the Games record of 1:01.89 by Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Anh Vien in the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur.
It was Salvino’s second record-breaking feat after also posting a new national mark in the women’s 50m backstroke for bronze medal the other day.
Ubas proved that he was ripe for the picking by winning his first gold in the biennial event since joining the national team in 2015.
Meanwhile, Gilas Pilipinas bid for redemption is facing its first real litmus test when it takes on the import-laden hosts Cambodia in the men’s 5-on-5 basketball at the Elephant Hall 2 at the Morodok Techo National Stadium on Thursday, May 11.
The Filipinos gun for a 2-0 standing in Group A against the Cambodian team which will be fielding at least six naturalized players in the 6 p.m. affair (Manila time) according to Gilas head coach Chot Reyes.
Although fresh off a 94-49 demolition of Malaysia in its opening game, Gilas is not going into the game complacent especially with Reyes expecting the hosts to put up a fight behind its naturalized players.
