PHNOM PENH. – Riding on the exploits of the track and field team, the Philippines won three more gold medals Tuesday in the 12th Asean Para Games at the Morodok Techo National Stadium here.
King James Reyes saved the best for last as he finally struck gold in the men’s 800 meters T46 where he clocked two minutes and 13.22 seconds after a pair of silver-medal efforts in the 5,000m race last Sunday and 1,500m last Monday.
Over at the nearby practice field where the throwing events were staged, Rosalie Torrefiel and Andrei Kuizon snared a gold each, with the former reigning supreme in the women’s javelin F11 and the latter ruling the men’s shot put F54/34.
The feats hiked the Joel Deriado-mentored squad’s total to six, matching its haul last year in Surakarta, Indonesia with still one day remaining in the four-day centerpiece event.
“Our goal is to improve on our six golds the last time and we’re close to achieving that,” said Deriada, who thanked the Philippine Sports Commission, PhilSpada, Philippine Paralympic Committee and their manager Judith Staples for their support.
At press time, the Filipinos were running fifth in the overall medal race with a 15-18-18 gold-silver-bronze haul.
Indonesia continued to hold sway with a 71-61-41 harvest followed by Thailand’s 46-49-36, Vietnam’s 31-29-45 and Malaysia’s 30-23-14.
“We’re still on target in surpassing the 28 gold medals who won last year in Surakarta,” said PSC Commissioner and chef-de-mission Walter Torres.
Over at the Morodok Aquatics Center, the Filipinos’ blistering golden streak came to a halt as they only managed a silver in the 100m butterfly S14 courtesy of Ariel Joseph Alegarbes, who clocked 1:00.73 in finishing behind eventual winner Muhd Imaan Aiman of Malaysia (1:00.35).
The country had earlier scooped up five swimming mints in the first two days, including two by Gary Bejino, who accomplished both in record-breaking fashions.
Reyes, a 21-year-old native of Loreto, Agusan del Sur, said he drew inspiration from his faith and family.
“Sila po ang inspirasyon ko,” said Reyes, who lost his right arm after falling from a three when he was just five years old.
Torrefiel was a cut above the rest in her class where she heaved a 19.33m, finishing ahead of Thai Ratnaningsih Ratnaningsih (18.05) and Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Chin (17.98).
Kuizon, a protégé of former national team mainstay Nixon Mas, blew away the competition with a 7.27m, or more than three meters ahead of eventual silver winner Phe Phawat of Cambodia who had a 4.17m.
Over at the Table Tennis Hall also in Morodok, the Filipino paddlers produced a pair of bronze medals courtesy of Smith Billy Cartera and Racleo Martinez (men’s class 4 teamddddd event) and Leo Macalanda, Jobert Lumanta and Jayson Ocampo (men’s class).
In chess at the Royal University, rapid gold winners Darry Bernardo and Cheyzer Mendoza stayed on course in adding another one as they led their respective divisions after three rounds in the standard division.
