Filipino para-athletes won three more gold medals in the 12th ASEAN Para Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Tuesday, June 6.
King James Reyes saved the best for last as he finally struck gold in the men’s 800-meter T46, after a pair of silver-medal efforts in 5,000-m on Sunday, June 4, and 1,500-m on Monday, June 5.
Reyes crossed the finish line in two minutes and 13.220 seconds, just a tick ahead of Malaysia’s Muhamad Ashraf Haisham (2:13.250) and Vietnam’s Tran Van Duc (2:13.260).
In the men’s shotput F54, Andrei Kuizon grabbed the gold with a mark of 7.27-m. He was comfortably ahead of a pair of hometown bets in Phea Phawat (4.17-m) and Poul Sarravann (3.89-m).
Rosalie Torrefiel continued the gold rush for Team Philippines in para-athletics, this time in the women’s javelin throw F11. Her mark of 19.33-m was ahead of Indonesia’s Ratnaningsih (18.05-m). Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Chin (17.98-m) completed the podium.
Another Filipina para-athlete, Jeanette Aceveda, placed sixth and last with a throw of 12.69-m.
The feats hiked the Joel Deriado-mentored squad’s total to six, which already matched its haul last year in Surakarta, Indonesia with still one day remaining in the four-day centerpiece event.
“Our goal is to improve on our sixth gold last time and we’re close to achieving that,” Deriado said.
Over at the Table Tennis Hall also in Morodok, the Filipino paddlers produced a pair of bronzes courtesy of Smith Billy Cartera and Racleo Martinez (men’s class four-team event) and Leo Macalanda, Jobert Lumanta and Jayson Ocampo (men’s class 8).
At press time, the Filipinos stayed at fifth in the overall medal race with a 15-18-18 gold-silver-bronze haul.
Indonesia continued to hold sway at the helm with a 71-61-41 harvest followed by Thailand’s 46-49-36, Vietnam’s 31-29-45 and Malaysia’s 30-23-14.
“We’re still on target of surpassing the 28 gold medals. We won last year in Surakarta,” Philippine Sports Commission chef-de-mission Walter Torres said.
Over at the Morodok Aquatics Center, the Filipinos’ blistering golden streak came to a crashing halt as they only managed a silver in the 100-m butterfly S14 courtesy of Ariel Joseph Alegarbes, who clocked 1:00.73 in finishing behind eventual winner Muhd Imaan Aiman of Malaysia with 1:00.35.
The country had earlier scooped up five mints in the first two days, including two by Gary Bejino, who accomplished both in record-breaking fashions.
Reyes, a 21-year-old native of Agusan del Sur’s Loreto town, said he drew inspiration from his faith and family.
“Sila po ang inspirasyon ko,” Reyes, who lost his right arm after falling from a tree when he was still five years old, said.
In chess at the Royal University, rapid gold winners Darry Bernardo and Cheyzer Mendoza all stayed on course in adding another one as they led their respective divisions after three rounds in the standard division. (ABS-CBN News)