Castaneda barges into final in Asian X Games

KUALA LUMPUR–Filipino skateboarder Anselm Castañeda barged into the final of the park category after he landed fifth Saturday in a field of 35 participants in the ongoing Asian X Games at the Putra Indoor Stadium.

Castañeda, who won the bronze in the 2001 Games in Thailand, scored 77.33 in his first run and emerged the lone Filipino among three entries to make it to the top 10.

"I like Anselm’s chances (in the finals) because the Australians aren’t here and most of the big names in Japan are absent as well so we’re looking forward to a decent finish," said RP team manager Mark Schultz.

Daisuke Mochizuki, the lone Japanese representative, registered an 85.67 in his second run to top all park qualifiers and push aside Yao Te Huang of Chinese-Taipei to No.2. Yao tallied an 84.33 after his first run. Ahmad Fadzil Musa, who had an 81.33 score, led four Malaysians into the finals.

Rankings of all 10 finalists will not matter in the finals as all qualifiers will be given a new set of runs. The finals were scheduled late Saturday afternoon.

Two other Filipinos were not as fortunate as the 24-year-old Castañeda.

Edmund Vega Chua, who scored a respectable 72.33, was dislodged from his precarious spot at No.10 when Johary Fitry Khairuddin of Malaysia scored a 72.67 in his second run, nosing out Chua’s bid at the top 10. Chua, a former Junior X regular, placed 11th after a tie-break advantage over Mohd Idzham Abdul Rahman of Malaysia.

A third Filipino, Pedro Santos Jr., finished 20th.