Pinoys eye bronze in sepak takraw

The sepak takraw team of the Philippines will not be contributing a gold medal in the country's quest for the overall championship title in the 23rd SEA Games as the best they could muster in the finals today will be a bronze medal coming from the female squad in the doubles regu.

However, the task will not be easy as the RP bets will be battling sepak takraw artists from powerhouse Thailand and the unpredictable Indonesians today.

Not even the presence of First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo and his brother Rep. Ignacio Arroyo and GSIS president Winston Garcia could turn the tide in favor of the hosts.

Thailand, fielding in veteran athletes, dominated the early goings of the game, until the tandem of Charlie Magtangob and Marbie Quirante bounced back to get the lead.

However, Porchai Kaowkaew and Suriyan Peachan utilized their power and experience to take a 21-16 mark at the close of the first set.

In the second set, Quirante was not in his full form prompting RP coach Vincent Luad to replace him with Jolly Aglobo.

It was the time when FG Miguel Arroyo and the other officials arrived. But Aglobo was not able to live up to expectations, making Luad to get Quirante back on court.

The RP team's replacement of players did not bother the Thais at all and they eased out to victory, 21-8. Earlier, the RP women's team suffered the same fate in the hands of the flexible and quicker Vietnamese, 0-2.

Thailand whom the RP female bets will meet at 10 a.m. today is already assured of the gold with three wins and no loss while Myanmar stands with two wins also for a sure silver.

It is going to be a toss up for bronze between RP and Indonesia again, just like in the regular regu event the other day.

In the men's side,Thailand leads group A with 3-0 and Myanmar in group B with two wins.