SUBIC, Philippines — The gold medal rush rubbed off on the Philippine sepak takraw team which hammered out a double-gold medal haul at the start of the 30th Southeast Asian Games sepak takraw competitions here at the Subic Gym yesterday.
The Nationals swept the hoop events for both men’s and women’s divisions for a scorching opener in their bid to claim the overall championship for the first time in history.
Playing coach Deseree Autor spearheaded the hosts’ early barrage, leading them to a whopping 670 points for the women’s gold. Indonesia (660) and Myanmar (640) settled for silver and bronze medal, respectively.
It was the first sepak gold medal triumph for the Philippine women’s squad that also included Josefina Maat, Sara Jean Kalalo, Mary Ann Lopez, Jean Marie Sucalit and Abigail Sinugbohan.
The Jason Huerte-led men’s squad followed suit hours later, also posting 670 markers to cap off a twinkill for the Philippines.
Cambodia (450) and Laos (430) finished with the silver and bronze mint, respectively, in the men’s side.
“We prepared hard for this so we expected to dominate the hoop event. But the real battle begins in regu,” said coach Rodolfo Eco.
“We hope to sustain this strong start for our mission to win the overall championship,” said Pilipinas Sepak Takraw Association Inc. president Karen Tanchanco-Caballero.
Together with other seasoned bets Janjan Bobier, Metodio Sueco, Emmanuel Escote, John Jeffrey Morcellos and Christian Gexorge Encabo, the Filipinos plunge into action today at the start of the preliminaries in centerpiece regu event where they placed second two years ago in Malaysia.