Golfers on course for gold in AYC

NANJING – Barring any misfortune, the Philippines will finally barge into the medal column following disappointments in different fronts over the last five days here.

Golfers Mia Legaspi and Princess Superal remained as hot as the summer weather here and took the 1-2 positions after two days of action at the Zhongshan International Golf Club.

Only 18 holes are keeping Legaspi and Superal from the first medal or medals for the Philippines in the region’s toughest multi-sport event for athletes aged 14 to 17 years.

The 14-year-old Legaspi, who’s had more victories than most golfers twice her age, carded a second straight 66 for a 12-under total of 132 with only one round to play.

The 16-year-old Superal, a product of the ICTSI golf program, had a 67 after opening up with a 69 and is just four shots behind her younger teammate.

Thailand’s Sangchan Supamas tried to rally with a 69 for a 138 but is still six strokes behind Legaspi. China’s Shi Yuting had a 68 for a tie with Supamas while Hong Kong’s Ho Mimi is at 143 (74-69).

“Let’s continue to hope and pray for the best from our golfers,” said Philippine chef-de-mission Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla after hearing the good news.

The entire Filipino delegation here, fully supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, is hoping for the best from the golfers.

In the boys’ side, Gabriel Tomas Manotoc went under par at 71 following a 72 last Sunday. He now stands at 143, good for sixth place and nine shots behind Taipei’s Yu Chun-an (64-70-134).

Another Filipino jungolf standout, Rupert Zaragosa, couldn’t get his game going under the searing summer heat in this capital city of Jiangsu province.

Zaragosa struggled with a 76 after a 77 and is tied for 14th place.

The Philippines sailed into the quarterfinals of 3-on-3 basketball with a 21-10 victory over Maldives late Sunday.

George Isaac Go, Patrick Ramirez and Andrei Caracut continued to play well in their first tournament together as they scored their third victory in as many games.

The Philippine trio, which earlier beat Indonesia, 10-8, and Saudi Arabia, 14-10, at the Wutaishan covered courts, takes a two-day rest before facing Iran on Wednesday.

“Iran has a tall player and will be tough to beat. But our players are more skillful playing 3-on-3. In 3-on-3 you don’t rely too much on plays,” said coach Nic Jorge.

“Besides, Iran almost lost to Bangladesh here, winning only in overtime. That may be a good sign for us,” said Jorge, a huge basketball figure back home.

If they get past Iran, a semifinals encounter with Chinese-Taipei is highly-possible. In the medal rounds, the most likely opponents are Korea and China.

In other fronts yesterday, shooter Celdon Jude Arellano wound up 23rd in a field of 37 in the boys’ 10m air rifle with a 602.9 total (102.9, 94.8, 101.8, 103.0, 100.0 and 100.4).

Another shooter, Amparo Therese Acuna, bowed out of the girls’ 10m air rifle 40 shots, and finished 12th in a field of 39.

Weightlifters Margaret Colonia and Mark Llena were waiting for the results from the higher group as of presstime after they were done competing in the girls’ 53 kg and boys 69 kg.

Colonia had a total of 131 which was good for fourth in Group B. She had a best lift of 61 in the snatch and a 70 in the clean and jerk where she failed twice at 75 kg.

Llena, the promising 15-year-old son of Philippine team coach Leonardo Llena, had the crowd at the Nanjing International Expo Center going with his near flawless stint.

Llena cleared all his lifts at 90, 96 and 100 kg in snatch and 115, 120 and 122 kg in the clean and jerk. He was so happy with his 222 total he hugged his father afterwards.

“This is a different level of competition and we have yet to watch the entries from the higher group,” said the 14-year-old Colonia who hails from Zamboanga.

“But it’s a great experience for all of us,” said the daughter of Olympian and former SEA Games gold medalist Gregorio Colonia, also a weightlifter.

In badminton, the mixed doubles pair of Alvin Morada and Joella de Vera blew their medal hopes in mixed doubles goodbye following a 21-19, 16-21, 18-21 loss to Taipei’s Yoh Lai and Lee Chi.

Mark Alcala, the second seed in boys’ singles, played with a nagging shoulder injury and lost to Hong Kong’s Cy Lee, 21-18, 21-15.

The Philippines still has hopes in lawn tennis, athletics, taekwondo, and is wrapping up its stint in rugby, table tennis and badminton.