Basadre fourth RP boxer in semis

DOHA — Drawing inspiration from the silver medal feat of jin Marie Antoinette Rivero and the surge of fellow rookie boxers Godfrey Castro and Joan Tipon Friday, Genebert Basadre whipped Serdar Hudayberdiyev of Turkmenistan to assure the Philippines of a fourth boxing bronze medal in Day 9 of the Asian Games here Saturday.

Basadre, 24, came out of his corner in full throttle, catching Hudayberdiyev off-guard with a flurry of punches that netted nine points then sustained the attack in the second that produced another 11 hits. The Filipino reigning SEA Games champion needed only to pile up four more points before the referee stepped in to stop the fight after 27 seconds of the third round of their lightflyweight clash.

With the RSC-O (outscored) victory, Basadre joined Castro and Tipon in the medal round with the Asian Championships veteran arranging a clash for the first final berth in the 60kg category with Chinese Hu Qing, who also essayed an RSC-O win over Kyrgyzstan’s Asylbek Talasbaev in the other quarterfinal bout at the Aspire Hall 5.

"I am really happy that I have reached this far," said Basadre. "Though I am a rookie for Team RP, I am glad I am contributing."

It was indeed a big victory for Basadre, who barely escaped Ali Shah of Pakistan, 20-19, in the prelims but now has a shot at the gold medal, with Hu hurting his hand against Talasbaev.

"I am looking forward to fighting him. "He is quick and tough but I will show you more."

Basadre’s win came 12 hours after Rivero captured the country’s first silver in the Games when she dropped a 1-6 decision to Korean Hwang Kyung Seon in the final of the welterweight class at the Qatar Sports Club late Friday night.

It also assured RP of its fourth bronze in the sport after flyweight Violito Payla, Castro and Tipon advanced to the semis with convincing victories in their respective divisions the past three days.

With Antonio Gabica and Leonardo Andam eyeing an all-Filipino duel in the 8-ball men’s singles final for what could the Philippines’ first gold medal at the Al-Sadd Multi-Purpose Hall at presstime, the Philippines campaign indeed shifted into high gear entering the homestretch of this 15-day sporting event of the world’s biggest continent.

Andam was pitted against Huang Kun Chang of Chinese-Taipei while Gabica was locked in battle with Japanese Satoshi Kawabata.

However, the Philippines’ medal tally stood at 0-1-2 (gold-silver-bronze) event as China hiked its haul to 97-53-26 and Japan and Korea battling it out for second with 31-37-45 and 24-29-52 takes, respectively.

On her way to the taekwondo 67kg division final, Rivero rallied to beat Liya Nurkina of Kazakhstan, 2-1, and whipped Bui Thu Hien of Vietnam in the semifinals by three points, 2 against -1.

"Toni has fought her about five times already. Each time she lost. Magaling talaga," said coach Rocky Samson.

But two other jins who saw action Friday were bundled out by their Taiwanese rivals right in the first round.

Flyweight Loraine Catalan lost through superiority to Wu Yen Ni while Ernesto Juan Mendoza III bowed to Liao Chia Hsing, 1-6.

Three more jins were set to fight Saturday — middleweight Criselda Roxas, bantamweight Tshomlee Go and welter-weight Alexander Briones.

In bowling, Southeast Asian Games Markwin Tee began his drive for the Masters gold medal by placing 11th in the first half of the 16-game competition.

The 22-year-old Ateneo graduate rolled 1715, just 136 pins behind pacesetting Jo Nam Yi of South Korea. Rookie Marianne Daisy Posadas and Ma.Liza del Rosario were to see action later in the day for the women’s Masters.

Also on tap late Saturday was the men’s long jump final where Henry Dagmil and Joebert Delicano are vying for medals.

In cycling, Alfie Catalan hobbled in 14th place in the men’s individual pursuit qualifying, but consoled himself by edging Malaysian rival Amir Mustafa Rusli. Over at the Khalifa tennis courts, Fil-Americans Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino won their opening assignments in singles.

Mamiit, seeded sixth, whitewashed Rajeev Rajapakse of Sri Lanka, 6-0, 6-0, while Taino gave up one game in posting a 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Macau’s Edgar Wong. The RP golfers, however, floundered at the Doha Golf Club.

Despite ideal playing conditions, the Filipinos were stuck in sixth place in the men’s division with 219 and a 430, 27 strokes behind South Korea.

Michael Bibat and Jay Bayron were the best-placed Filipinos in the individual race at two-under following a 72 and 74, respectively.

Korean Kim Do Hoon paced the individual race at 10-under after a 65.

Marvin Dumandan completed the team scoring with 73. For the second straight day, Gene Bondoc did not count with a 76.

The RP ladies, on the other hand, reeled to sixth with a 288 after a 144 as Korea braced for a sweep with a 271 after a 134. Japan is in second with a 138-273 while Taiwan took third place with a 277 after a 140.