MMA star assures Team PH of silver; Yulos dazzle

NAGOYA, Japan – Mixed martial arts (MMA) star Jean Claude Saclag broke the hearts of the host nation while the Yulo brothers – Carlos Edriel and Karl Eldrew – inched closer to making history at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya on Monday, Sept. 21, here.

Combining smarts and guile, Saclag hit Japanese Daisuke Murayama repeatedly and romped to a 3-0 victory in the men’s traditional -65kg semis bout, a win that almost silenced the home crowd at the Inae Sports Center.

Even before the match, Saclag, fondly called “Dynamite” by friends, was already oozing with confidence, having watched and beaten some of his rivals in his division.

“I am confident in my chances because I have defeated some of my rivals before,” said Saclag right after his quarterfinal win the other day.

He will go for the gold against Tajikistan’s Otabek Rajabov on Tuesday, with Philippine Olympic Committee Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino hoping the stars will finally align.

“That’s my plan. I will go for the gold,” said the pride of Benguet, who rose to international fame after winning a gold medal in the Sanda World Cup two years ago.

That would be a fitting birthday present as he turns 31 on Sept. 25.

Claude’s victory came after Carlos Alvarez lost to Kazakhstan’ Yerkingali Burkutalin in the semis of the men’s traditional -77kg.

Still, Alvarez will go home with a bronze medal – the country’s second after that of the soft tennis team..

Though they have varied styles, the Yulos share the same passion and fire in their mission to make the country proud and happy. But they need to exert more effort if they are to create history as the first Filipino siblings to win a medal together in the continental showpiece.

The older Yulo, a double-gold medalist in the Paris Olympics, made sure he could achieve his goal this time by advancing to the finals of his pet event – the floor exercise. He ranked first with 14.600, slightly ahead of Korean Sunghyun (14.566) while younger brother placed fourth (13.966).

He also delivered a strong performance in the parallel bars, finishing 6th. However, he was only No. 6 in the vault – the very same apparatus where he won his other gold.

“Hindi siya lumabas sa preparation na gusto ko… ang daming learnings din na pwede kong baunin sa mga susunod na araw,” he said.

In the 2018 Jakarta Games, Carlos Yulo was a big disappointment, placing 7th in the floor exercise and fourth in the vault. He skipped the Hangzhou Games to focus on the qualifying event for the Paris Olympics.

Also making it to the finals was Miguel Besana in the vault, being the No. 4 placer. In the team event, the Filipinos were virtually out of it after slipping to No. 6 overall.

In Tokyo, swimming marvels Kayla Sanchez and Xiandi Chua advanced to the finals of their respective events, with the former posting the 6th fastest time overall but it was a new national mark in the women’s 50m backstroke. She clocked 28.24 seconds in finishing second in her heats to smash her previous mark of 28.47sec established at last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

Chua did better, submitting second best in the women’s individual medley.

Swimming finals are scheduled later in the day.

The Philippines also scored big in baseball, blanking Palestine, 12-0, behind a grand slam home run by first baseman Mark Beronilla and the six RBIs on three hits by designated hitter Ferdinand Liguayan.

The team also drew a splendid job on the mound from Romeo Jasmin, who yielded only two hits after baffling their rivals with a variety of wicked pitches.

They will next face China on Tuesday before clashing with the giant, Japan, the following day.

Beach volleyball teams produced mixed results with the duo of Khylem Perogella and Sofiah Pagaras scoring a 2-0 win over their rivals from Maldives in Pool F, but Alnakran Abdilla and LJ Francisco fell to the Qataris, 0-2.

The sepak takraw team, which accounted for two of the country’s 12 bronze medals at the Hangzhou Games, started flat, absorbing a crushing 0-3 defeat at the hands of the Malaysians in the men’s team regu at the Mizuho Park Center.

Well, they ought to perform better in their next Pool B game against host Japan on Tuesday for them to have a chance of advancing to the quarters. Otherwise, they will be forced to resign as agreed upon with their association head.

“I’d like to share that there is already a courtesy resignation on all athletes if they do not come home with a medal,” said Karen Tanchanco-Caballero during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Philippine Sports Commission media room two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the triathletes poured their all in the mixed relay, but their best was not enough to make it to the podium.

The quartet of Raven Faith Alcoseba, Kim Remolino, Kim Mangobang, and Fernando Jose Casares struggled against their rivals’ blistering pace and finished 9th, clocking 1:32:56 or seven minutes slower than the time of gold winner China. Japan and Hong Kong finished second and third, respectively.

In modern pentathlon, Samuel German and Michael Ver Comaling settled for 15tjh and 17th overall.

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