RP fencers best in SEA

The Philippines captured the overall crown of the sixth Southeast Asian Fencing Championships after four more gold medals were won by a crack RP team Wednesday and Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Walbert Mendoza and Leny Reyes grabbed the men’s and women’s saber gold medals Wednesday, a feat the RP foil teams duplicated a day later to raise the country’s haul to an unreachable eight gold medals in the tournament participated in by six countries.

With only four more gold medals staked on the last two days of competitions, the Philippines did not only retain the crown but also pulled off the feat with flourish. In the 2000 edition, a Philippine team emerged overall champion by winning seven of the 10 golds at stake.

The men’s foil team of Emerson Segui, Rolando Canlas and brothers Ramil and Rufelino Endriano made the opposition wilt throughout the tournament on their way to the gold medal.

The women’s squad of Lenny Reyes, who already has three golds to her name in the tournament, Veena Nustro, Melly Joy Angeles and Lorraine San Diego refused to be left out and did the same gold medal-winning stint in women’s foil.

"A team that has prepared long and hard and one that has the heart and determination to triumph will be one that would produce results. And this is the result," said Celso Dayrit, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee, who once headed the Philippine Amateur Fencing Association.

Six countries are competing in the tournament – the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei – and the way the tournament is going, Dayrit said, the Philippines could already make an initial projection about next year’s SEA Games in Vietnam.

"It’s definitely a good sign but still, we have to keep it up all the time," he said. The Philippine team’s participation in the championships was bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

The other winners of the gold medals in the tournament being played at the Negara Stadium were Avelino Victorino in men’s epee, Lorrie Bauzon in women’s epee, Reyes in women’s foil and Segui in men’s foil.