Cruz, Ditan bag golds in taekwondo

Sydney Olympic veterans Roberto Cruz and Eva Marie Ditan hurdled their respective provincial rivals to emerge as the first pair of gold medalists in the Samsung Best of the Best taekwondo championships yesterday at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City.

The 30-year-old Cruz, Southeast Asian Games gold medalist since the 1991 Manila Games, whipped Baguio’s Michael Velo, 5-1, while Ditan held off Iloilo’s Pamela Cababasay, 5-3, in the senior men’s and women’s finals.

"Hindi ko ini-expect manalo dahil magagaling ang mga kalaban, pero kailangang magpakita dahil national athlete tayo," said Cruz shortly after the first final bout in the weeklong tourney organized by the Philippine Taekwondo Association, sponsored by Samsung, managed by IMG and supported by Philippine STAR, Accel, Colours, Kix, 103.5 Lite and Ayala Center.

Cruz raced to a 2-0 lead in the first round behind a counter bullet and 45 sidekicks, and put the outcome beyond recall by scoring two more points in the second.

Ditan, fighting well despite a left toe injury, put up a good defense to slow down the aggressive Cababasay, 18-year-old US Open and Korea Open gold medalist.

Busan Asian Games veteran Daleen Cordero whipped Diorlyn Papelera, 8-4, to arrange a title showdown with UP’s Lorraine Catalan, 4-2 winner over Mia Pacanot.