By REY C. LACHICA
PARIS – Nesthy Petecio’s win looked easy after she was seen taunting her taller Indian rival several times in the third and final round.
Truth is, it was a hard one.
Petecio relied heavily on great timing, brilliant footwork and counter attacks to carve out a unanimous decision over the 5-foot-9 Jaismine Lamboria in the round-of-32 of the women’s 57 kg. division class in the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, July 30, at the far away North Paris Arena here.
Tough as it was, the 5-foot-2 Petecio was overjoyed by her win so sweet and masterful that the highly appreciative Filipino fans never got tired chanting her name, and of course, the trademark battlecry – “Laban Pilipinas!”
“Sobra saya ako sa panalongf ito, pero hirap din kasi mahaba siya (reach) so hirap makipagsabayan sa kanya,” said Petecio while flashing her winsome smile. “Kung makipagsabayan ka sa kanya, sa tangkad nya, may tama ka na hindi pa abot ang suntok mo sa kanya.”
The win, according to Petecio, was the result of a good game plan plotted diligently by coach Reynaldo Galido.
“After the draw kasi, talagang pinagaralan na namin ang galaw nya,” said Petecio. “Kaya nag-stick ako sa game plan namin, lots of footwork and counterattacks.”
After sizing up her rival early on, Petecio came through with three solid shots to the head that proved enough to seize the momentum and the pride of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur protected it valiantly with rock-solid defensive effort.
Petecio then attacked relentlessly in the second frame, increasing the volume of punches she threw to build a comfortable lead going into the third and final round.
And the show began.
Convinced she had her Indian foe all figured out, Petecio used the old but still effective hit and run tactic to the delight of the crowd who chanted her name once again.
“Dagdag lakas kapag naririnig ko ang sigaw na Pilipinas. Yan ang mas gugustuhin kong marinig kasi dala dala natin yan kahit saan. Kahit pagod ka na, laban pa rin, dagdag lakas kasi,” said Petecio while pointing to PH flag patch on her jersey.
In her next bout against local bet Amina Zidane, Petecio needs to box extra hard and more smartly to have a better chance.
Zidane is no pushover being seeded No. 3 but Petecio is still a proud winner of silver medal in the Tokyo Games.
