KUALA LUMPUR -- Samuel Thomas Harper Morrison won over his Indonesian opponent on Sunday to give the Philippines its second gold medal in the 29th Southeast Asian Games taekwondo competition at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Hall 1 here.
Morrison, son of a retired US serviceman from Olongapo City, defeated Dinggo Ard Prayogo, 28-18, in the final of the men's under- 74kg category He also won the under 68kg class in Singapore two years ago.
“Nanggigil po ako nang matalo si Arven (Alcantara) kaya sinabi ko babawi ako sa kanya,” said Morrison, who dedicated his medal to his late grandmother, Rosario Barias, who died from a stroke early last year.
Alcantara, playing in his first SEA Games, settled for the silver medal after the head judge ruled that he committed 10 penalties. Malaysian Rozaimi bin Rozali was declared the winner of the match which ended at 17-all.
Alcantara, silver medalist in the 2015 Asean Universiade in Indonesia, rallied from a 13-16 deficit with a long kick in the final 13 seconds of the third and last round to tie the score.
Meanwhile, Pauline Louise Lopez, a gold winner in the women’s under 57kg event in Singapore, bowed to Vietnamese Ja Thi Nguyen, 3-4, in the semifinal of the under 62kg event to settle for the bronze medal. (PNA)
