Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio (File photo)
PHNOM PENH – Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio proved too much for Vy Sreysros of Cambodia Wednesday, scoring a 5-0 win in the semifinals of the women’s featherweight class and leading four other Pinoys into the boxing finals of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games here.
Also scoring big wins at the Chroy Changvar Center Hall G were Rogen Ladon, Ian Clark Bautista, Norlan Petecio, and John Marvin, according to a news release.
So far, seven out of 12 Pinoy boxers here have advanced to the finals, the other two being Tokyo Olympian Irish Magno and Riza Pasuit, who triumphed in their semis matches last Tuesday in the women’s flyweight and lightweight category, respectively.
“Obviously, we're happy to have seven boxers so far in the finals. But the job is not done yet and we have to stay focused as there's a bigger challenge in the finals,” Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) Secretary-General Marcus Jarwin Manalo said.
Petecio, gunning for redemption after a frustrating bronze medal finish in Vietnam last year, will face Ratna Sari Devi of Indonesia in the finals on Sunday.
Ladon used his jabs and effective counterpunching to pull off a 4-1 win over Malaysian Muhammad Abdul Qaiyum in their flyweight clash and set up a battle for the gold this Saturday against 2021 World Championships bronze medalist Thanarat Saengphet of Thailand.
Ladon, a back-to-back Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in 2019 and 2022, started the fight on a blazing note, turned a little bit sluggish in the second round before regaining his bearing in the last round to get the nod of the judges.
Bautista followed Ladon in the gold medal round after crushing Naing Latt of Myanmar via a lopsided 5-0 decision in the men’s featherweight class. He will face Indonesian Asri Udin also on Saturday.
Norlan Petecio, the 21-year-old younger brother of Nesthy, bested Singaporean Jun Jie Velvan through a 4-1 decision and set up a title-duel with Thai Bunjong Sinsiri in the men’s lightweight category on Sunday.
Marvin, a Filipino-British, blasted Cambodian Nasredinov Anvar via a 5-0 unanimous decision and arranged a championship showdown on Sunday with Thailand’s Weerapon Jongjoho in the men’s light heavyweight division.
Three more Filipinos will also go for the finals berths on Thursday.
Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam faces Timor Leste’s Edegar Foe Quintas Da Silva in the men’s bantamweight class while Markus Cezar Tongco battles Manh Cuong Nguyen of Vietnam in the men’s heavyweight semifinals.
Paul Julyfer Bascon clashes against Touch Davit of Cambodia in the men’s light welterweight semifinals.
Only light flyweight Mark Lester Durens and welterweight James Palicte have lost their preliminary fights. (PNA)
