Villapa, 3 other jins score shutout wins; Olympians feted

Finweight Raymond Villapa of Regional Philippines Taekwondo Contingent (RPTC) outkicked Jorge Rodriguez, 3-0, yesterday to lead three other bets who fashioned out shutout victories at the start of the Samsung Best of the Best National Taekwondo Championships, which also paid a tribute to the three jins who saw action in the just-concluded Olympic Games in Athens.

Bea Lucero and Monsour del Rosario, two former Olympians who have made their marks in the modern martial art from Korea, graced the opening of the five-day event where they bestowed honors on the troika of Donald Geisler III, Marie Antoinette Rivero and Tshomlee Go for their gallant stand in Greece.

Although they came home empty-handed, Rivero, Go and Geisler still emerged heroes in their own right, their effort and performance becoming a source of inspiration for the youth, in particular, and the country, in general.

Shin Jil Sou, minister and consul general of the Embassy of Korea, Samsung president Sang Youl Eom and PTA (Philippine Taekwondo Association) vice president Sung Chon Hong also graced the event that attracted over 400 jins from Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga, Bulacan, Baguio, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Cebu and Davao.

Others who hurdled their first round assignments in the finweight class of the seniors division were Mandy del Rosario, Hector Arellano of Air Force, Armyman Angelito Ong, Terence Boteja of Laguna, Davao’s Rolly Pentecostes and Jeffrey Clata of Pangasinan.

Del Rosario beat Anthony Polmo of Taguig, 2-0; Arellano outclassed Edgar Rosquillo of San Beda, 2-0; Ong defeated Raymond Tongol of Tarlac, 1-0; Boteja nipped Marco Villanueva of La Salle, 3-2; Pentecostes rapped Rolando Rengel of PAF, 6-1; and Clata pulled off a thrilling 7-5 decision over Las Piñas bet Mark Catarig.

Matches in six other weight divisions in the single round elims were still being played at presstime with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals and then to the semifinals and the finals all set today.

Citing injuries and fatigue, Geisler, Rivero and Go begged off from participating in the tournament sponsored by top electronics firm Samsung for the third straight year and organized by IMG (International Management Group).

Meanwhile, action in the juniors and grade school divisions of the event, backed by IBC-13, Accel, Colours, The Philippine STAR, Ayala Center, Bacchus and Solar Sports and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, will start tomorrow and Saturday, respectively, with the finals to be played Sunday where a grand demonstration of the sport will also be conducted.