Son of Ifugao bags one gold in SEA games

Expression on success - Jason Balabal
after winning gold in wrestling

IFUGAO pride Jason Balabal came up with a sterling performance Tuesday evening to win the country’s second gold in wrestling in the ongoing 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Indonesia.

Balabal scored the second gold in the Greco–Roman wrestling competition after Margarito Angana scored the first gold in the competition, which opened Monday adding to the country’s pile up of 15 gold medals after three days of competition.

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The 25-year-old Ifugao native emerged unscathed from all his three matches Tuesday to top the 84-kg Greco-Roman event and will now set his sights on the freestyle gold when he competes anew in his regular event in the competitions’ final day Thursday.

Meanwhile, a runner from the University of Baguio scored her first medal in the biennial competition in athletics.

Seeing action in his first SEA games, Katherine Santos scored her first medal by bagging the bronze medal in the long jump event.

Santos was a perennial gold medalist for University of Baguio in Prisaa meets and was recruited for the national team after the Philippine National Games.

The 21-year-old Santos quickly made an impact in her first SEA Games stint by capturing the bronze medal with a leap of 6.25 meters.

Lady boxer Alice Kate Appari, meanwhile, is seeing action as of this writing in the quarterfinals of the light flyweight division as she squares off against Laosian Mieovady Hangfa in Palembang.

Wushu, the country’s gold mine in the past SEA Games, opens its campaign Friday as competition in taolo begins including the preliminaries in sanshou, the combative side of wushu.

Veterans and Baguio-based wushu campaigners John Keithley Chan, Mark Eddiva, Benjie Rivera, Edward Folayang, brothers Daniel and Denver Parantac, and Thornton Quieney Lou Sayan will banner the 18-man field in the biennial competitions.

Joining the group are Jessie Aligaga, Mary Jane Estimar, Engelbert Andongan, Denbert Arcita, and Eleazar Jacob.

Completing the team are female wushu artists Rhea May Rifani, Marianne Mariano, Kariza Chan, Kathlynn Sabalburo, and Natasha Laxamana. The five female wushu players are also based in the city. - (SunStar / by Roderick Osis)

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