By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Riza Pasuit and Ilongga Irish Magno moved closer to a gold medal in the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games after disposing their semifinals foes at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center: Hall G in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Tuesday night, May 9.

Pasuit, a native of Bacolod City, made her way to the finals of the women’s 63-kilogram category after beating Singapore fighter Nur Sabrina Binte Mohd Faizal via 4-1 split decision.

Pasuit, a bronze medal winner in the 2021 SEA Games, will vie for the biennial games gold medal against Tih Linh Ha of Vietnam, who prevailed over Kay Thwe Nyein of Myanmar via unanimous decision in the semis.

The Negrense fighter made her way to the semifinals round of the division following her unanimous decision victory over Indonesian fighter Huswatun Hasanah in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, the Iloilo City-native Magno advanced to the gold medal match of the women’s 54-kg category after scoring a 5-0 victory over Indonesia’s Novita Sinadia in the semifinals round.

Magno reached the semifinals round of her division following a unanimous decision victory over Myanmar’s Nan A Mwe Hom in the quarterfinals match held on May 6.

Magno will shoot for her first-ever SEA Games gold medal this Saturday afternoon, May 13, against Thai fighter Jutapas Jitapong, who scored a second round stoppage win over Cambodia’s Yeleubayeva Aishagul in the semis.

This will be Magno’s third shot at the biennial games gold medal after settling for silver medal finishes during the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines and in the 2021 edition in Hanoi, Vietnam.

On the other hand, Negrense James Palicte saw his bid for a podium finish come to an end after his controversial split decision defeat to Cambodian boxer Ven Ratha in the quarterfinals of the men’s 63.5-kg category.

It was a sorry end for Palicte in the biennial games after he captured a gold medal during the 2019 edition in the Philippines and won a bronze medal during last year’s edition in Hanoi./ASC, WDJ