By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Three Filipino boxers suffered expected decision defeats to hometown bets in their respective gold medal matches in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, December 19.

Negrense Flint Jara bowed to Thailand’s Thanarat Saengphet via unanimous decision in the men’s bantamweight gold medal bout.

Fighting before a partisan Bangkok crowd, Jara struggled to sway the judges despite a competitive exchange-heavy contest.

Another unanimous verdict went against the Philippines in the women’s 50-kilogram finals, where Aira Villegas absorbed a 5-0 decision loss to Thai bet Chuthamat Haksat, handing Villegas a silver medal finish.

Jay Bryan Baricuatro came closest to breaking the host nation’s hold on the golds but ultimately dropped a narrow split decision, 4-1, to Thitiwat Phlongaurai in the men’s light flyweight (46-48 kg) finals.

The ruling sealed another silver for the Philippine team after a bout many observers considered tightly contested.

However, Eumir Marcial was the exception as he defeated Indonesia’s Maikhel Roberrd Muskita via split decision for the country’s lone gold medal in boxing in Thailand.

The sweep of decision victories by the host nation did not go unnoticed, with Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines President Ricky Vargas expressing concern over the pattern that unfolded inside the ring.

“That’s very unusual. I’ve never seen a situation na [halos] lahat ng pumasok sa finals ay [from] the host country,” Vargas said./ASC, WDJ