Custodio stamps class two

Jiu-jitsu bets, gymnast hike Team Philippines gold harvest

CHONBURI – From her lofty position atop the world, jiu-jitsu champ Kimberly Custodio brought her act to the Southeast Asian Games and led Team Philippines’ golden haul yesterday.

Announcing her arrival at the SEAG, the three-time world title-holder swept past her rivals en route to victory in the women’s 48kg ne-waza event that served as a fire-starter to triumphs by fellow BJJ bet Dean Roxas and Olympian gymnast Aleah Finnegan in the second day of full blast action here.

Roxas reigned supreme in the men’s 85kg class while Finnegan won the mint in vault apparatus of the women’s artistic gymnastics, bringing to five the Philippines’ gold collection counting the opening quarry of taekwondo jin Justin Kobe Macario (men’s freestyle poomsae) and history-making swimmers Kayla Sanchez, Heather White, Chloe Isleta and Xiandi Chua (women’s 4x100 meter freestyle relay).

With five golds, seven silvers and 22 bronzes, the country sat at sixth in the medal tally as of 7:30 p.m.

Falling short of the gold and collaring silvers were Sanchez (women’s 50m backstroke and 200m freestyle events), taekwondo’s Clarence Sarza (women’s -46kg), jiu-jitsu’s Yman Xavier Baluyo and gymnast Haylee Garcia (women’s uneven bars)

Custodio was shedding tears when she talked about this memorable SEAG debut. A world titlist in the 45kg division, the bemedalled Pinay went up to the 48kg play for the competitions at the Navaminda Kasatiryahiraj Air Force Academy in Bangkok.

“Pagod na pagod pero sobrang saya ko. Grabe support ng mga Filipino dito sobrang nakaka-overwhelm. Sobrang happy, nagbunga rin lahat ng paghihirap namin ng coaches ko teammates ko saka ng mga taong nagtitiwala at nagsuporta sa amin,” she said, her voice cracking.

“Sobrang nakakatuwa. First time kong mag move-up ng weight division. Hindi ko in-expect na manalo kasi sobrang gagaling talaga dito sa weight division na ito. Pero sa awa ng Diyos at sa hard work din namin nagbunga din.”

Custodio defeated all four opponents who stood her path, including two Thais, Tan Pechrada Kacie (semis) and Sugun Nutchaya (finals), 3-0.

Roxas brought out the broom in his side of the competition, wrapping it up with a quick submission disposal of Singapore’s Aacus Hou Yu Ee.

“Feels like a repeat of 2019,” said Roxas who ruled the same event six years ago.

“I went through a lot this year, I got injured in Japan, like three weeks ago and thought I wasn’t going to be able to compete. So grateful to be here, soak in the moment to represent the country and get another gold for the Philippines.”

Finnegan, a one-gold winner in the pandemic-delayed 2022 edition in Vietnam, collared the mint in vault with 13.433 ahead of Vietnamese Thi Quynh Nhu Nguyen (13.400) and Malaysia’s Kang Xian Yeap (12.966).

“This gold is incredibly special,” said Finnegan. “A lot has happened behind the scenes, some personal challenges, but I kept pushing through all of it,” she said.

Before she could celebrate this triumph, the Fil-Am star went through anxious moments. Officials initially flashed her incorrect score and it took 30 agonizing minutes before the judges corrected the mistake and confirmed her gold medal score.

“I was really nervous when they flashed the wrong score. We were trying to figure out how they got that number. It was stressful and confusing. But in the end, I’m just thankful everything was corrected,” she said.

Angeli Bulaong came out on top in mixed martial arts women’s modern 60kg play, but the gold won’t count officially in the medal standings since it’s being played as a  demo sport here.

Filipinas in semis

Meanwhile, the Filipinas banked on Alexa Pino’s hat-trick to rout Malaysia, 6-0, and clinch a ticket to the semifinals of women’s football as Group B runnerup against host Thailand, the Group A topnotcher.

In women’s volleyball at the Indoor Stadium Huamark, 16-time champion Thailand flexed its muscle and smashed Alas Pilipinas, 25-11, 25-17, 25-16, to complete a sweep in Group A for early semis entry.

It’s not the end of the road for the Filipinas though as they could claim the last semis seat if they beat Singapore today.

8 boxers make medal round

Also in Bangkok, the Philippine boxing team is now assured of eight medals following the victory of Jay Brian Baricuatro in the men’s 48-kilograms quarterfinals.

Baricuatro was simply too skilled for his Vietnamese opponent Linh Punh Nguyen, landing perfect combinations and power punches to score a convincing 5-0 victory.

With the win, Baricuatro has joined Ofelia Magno in the semifinals, assuring them of at least a bronze-medal finish in their respective weight classes.

They will join Hergie Bacyadan, Riza Pasuit, Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villegas, Eumir Marcial, and Weljon Mindoro with assured medals after drawing a bye in the first round and getting an outright semis seat.

Although assured of a huge medal haul, Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) secretary general Marcus Manalo stressed that the team has set its sight on nothing, but the gold medals

“May (eight) na tayo na assured bronze. Of course, you want a better color ‘di ba?” said Manalo. “Hindi naman okay na based on the draw lang ‘yung medal. Obviously, we’ll take that but their job is to get to the podium even higher.”

Others still vying for a spot in the final four are Mark Ashley Fajardo, Junmilardo Ogayre and Flint Jara.

Claudine Veloso, meanwhile, had a rough start to her SEAG boxing stint after dropping a tough 5-0 loss to Vo Ti Kim Anh in the women’s 54kg class.

Bacyadan will have the first shot at advancing to the finals when she takes on defending champion and Thai bet Manikon Baison in the women’s 70kg semifinals for a sure silver.