Yape named as Team Philippines flag bearer for Asiad Closing Ceremony

Taekwondo gold medalist Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape will bear the flag for a proud Team Philippines during the parade of athletes in Sunday’s closing ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games.

“He’s deserving for that honor,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino on the eve Saturday of the closing ceremony set for 5 p.m. (Manila time) also at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium, where the hosts opened the games two weeks ago.

“It will be a recognition not only for Jeus but also for taekwondo, which finally won its first Asian Games gold medal since 1994, when the sport became a medal event in the games,” Tolentino added.

Yape topped the mixed virtual taekwondo—an open gender event that combines the combat sports with virtual reality and motion-tracking technology—last Friday to highlight a best-ever 1-3-1 gold-silver-bronze haul by the Filipino jins.

He also clinched bronze in men’s individual poomsae.

Also joining the closing ceremony are silver medalist Juliana Mykhail Candelaria, ⁠Tachiana Keizha Mangin and Kurt Barbosa of taekwondo and ⁠Carlo Paalam of boxing.

Paris Olympics boxing bronze medalist Aira Villegas and weightlifting world junior champion Albert Ian de los Santos were the flag bearers during the September 19 opening ceremony.

Philippines secure historic Asiad bronze in beach volleyball

Khy Progella and Sofiah Pagara turned heartbreak into history, rallying from a set down to capture a historic bronze medal in the Asian Games women’s beach volleyball on Thursday at Hekinan Ryokuchi Beach Court.

The young Alas Pilipinas tandem battled back from a slow start to stun China’s Cao Shuting and Dong Jie, 13-21, 23-21, 15-13, securing the Philippines’ first-ever Asian Games podium finish in beach volleyball.

“Sobrang nakaka-overwhelmed po ‘yung nangyari, trinabaho po namin kung ano ‘yung deserve namin,” said Pagara.

Progella and Pagara refused to fold despite being dominated in the opening set and facing a match point in the second, with the Chinese pair moving ahead, 20-19.

The pair from University of Santo Tomas erased the deficit and forced a deciding set, where the match remained tight until the crucial stretch. Locked at 10-all, Progella and Pagara surged ahead, 14-12, putting themselves within one point of the bronze.

China saved one match point, but the Filipinas remained composed.

Dong then sent an over pass long, triggering a celebration from the Philippine side as Progella and Pagara secured their place in Asian Games history.

“Actually noong first set andoon ‘yung kaba and ‘yung pressure na hindi madala ‘yung sarili but at the end of first set, na-overcome namin ‘yung pressure,” said Progella.

The team, supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission, celebrated the country's best finish in the event since beach volleyball was introduced at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima.

The bronze came less than 24 hours after Progella and Pagara saw their gold-medal hopes dashed in the semifinals.

Early exits haunt Filipino judokas at Asiad

c/o POC/PSC Media

Three Filipino judokas fell one after the other on Friday in the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games with two-time Olympian Kiyomi Watanabe suffering an early exit after falling to Ekaterina Tokareva of Kazakhstan in the women's -78kgs round of 16  the Aichi International Arena.

Moving up to a heavier division, Watanabe engaged in a tight grip battle early on, with both athletes receiving a Shido penalty at the 0:46 mark.

But the Kazakh capitalized on an opening shortly after, executing a decisive throw to score an Ippon and advance to the quarterfinals.

Chino Sy Tancontian suffered a similar fate, succumbing to Japan’s Ryotaro Masuchi in the men's -100kg round of 16 action.

Going up against a formidable Japanese rival, Sy was put on the defensive early after Masuchi registered a Yuko just 12 seconds into the bout.

The Filipino judoka continued to battle for grip and positioning, but the Japanese athlete secured back-to-back Waza-ari scores to seal the victory via Ippon in 2 minutes and 1 second.

Also out of contention is Eskelen Kedo, who bowed to the UAE’s Magomedomar Magomedomarov via Ippon in the men’s +100kg round of 16, ending the Filipino judokas' bid in the quadrennial games.

Adamson back at .500, Zobel keeps Ateneo winless

UAAP Season 89 High School Boys' Volleyball Standings
FEU-D 4-0
UST 4-0
NUNS 2-2
UE 2-2
AdU 2-2
UPIS 1-3
DLSZ 1-3
Ateneo 0-4

Games on Sunday at the Blue Eagle Gym
Girls
9 a.m. – ADU vs. UE
11 a.m. – UPIS vs. NUNS
1 p.m. – UST vs. DLSZ
3 p.m. – Ateneo vs. FEU-D

Boys
9 a.m. – FEU-D vs. ADU
11 a.m. – DLSZ vs. UST
1 p.m. – UE vs. UPIS
3 p.m. – Ateneo vs. NUNS

Adamson University rediscovered its winning ways, while De La Salle Zobel picked up its first victory of UAAP Season 89 after defeating University of the Philippines Integrated School and Ateneo de Manila University, respectively, on Friday at the Paco Arena Events and Sports Center in Manila.

Adamson leaned on a balanced offensive effort to sweep UPIS, 25-15, 25-17, 25-19, moving the Baby Falcons to 2-2 and into a tie for third to fifth place.

The Baby Falcons came out firing in the third set, stringing together eight straight points to take a 10-1 lead, with back-to-back blocks and an attack from Ian Dayao highlighting the run.

UPIS continued to struggle with errors late in the set, as a service error handed Adamson match point.

The Junior Fighting Maroons staved off three match points, but a service error on their fourth attempt gave the Baby Falcons the victory and allowed them to split their back-to-back games. Adamson had lost to University of Santo Tomas in four sets on Thursday.

“Hopefully mahigitan nga namin ‘yung performance last season. Siguro paghahandaan lang din talaga sa araw-araw na ensayo namin tsaka ‘yung composure ng mga bata during game, importante kasi ‘yun mentally tsaka ‘yung body nila kailangan prepared talaga palagi. Siguro sa ensayo rin talaga namin dadaanin,’yun ang pambawi namin,” said Adamson head coach Marvin Ramoso. “And sabi ko nga sa mga bata, hindi lang naman Final Four lang ang target natin dapat eh, kundi final two talaga kagad.”

Dayao led Adamson with 11 points, converting seven attacks and four blocks. Lance Babon added 10 points on nine attacks and an ace, while James Bernabe chipped in nine points in the 57-minute match.

Janjalani Rebualos directed Adamson’s offense with 12 excellent sets, while Johnlee Macam anchored the team’s defense with 10 digs. Macam also contributed five points on four attacks and a block.

Prince Jimenez led UPIS with eight points on five attacks and three blocks, while also collecting six digs.

Meanwhile, the Junior Spikers turned to Brett Urriquia in dispatching Ateneo, 25-14, 25-14, 25-20, to improve to 1-3 and join the Fighting Maroons in sixth place.

DLSZ came out firing in the third set, opening with a 7-1 run as the Junior Spikers capitalized on Ateneo’s miscues and leaned on Urriquia and Kooper Arguelles to keep the pressure on.

The Blue Eagles mounted a late rally behind Dominic Franco Tolentino, cutting the deficit to 22-19.

The Junior Spikers, however, quickly halted the comeback, with Arguelles delivering a block and Renell Sabaldica following with an attack to bring DLSZ to match point. After a net touch briefly kept Ateneo alive, Arguelles put the finishing touch on DLSZ’s victory.

Urriquia led all scorers with 17 points, built on 14 attacks, two aces, and a block, while Arguelles and John Angelo Ronquillo contributed eight points apiece for DLSZ in the 61-minute encounter.

Ranzlee Buco facilitated DLSZ’s offense with 12 excellent sets, while Luis Papa chipped in 10 excellent digs and eight excellent receptions on the defensive end.

Antonio Avendano and Jaden Lee emerged as Ateneo’s top scorers with five points each, as the Blue Eagles remained winless after four matches.

FEU-Diliman snaps two-match skid in Girls Volleyball

UAAP Season 89 High School Girls' Volleyball Standings
NUNS 3-0
UST 2-1
ADU 2-1
DLSZ 2-1
FEU-D 1-2
Ateneo 1-2
UPIS 1-2
UE 0-3

Games on Sunday at the Blue Eagle Gym
Girls'
9 a.m. – ADU vs. UE
11 a.m. – UPIS vs. NUNS
1 p.m. – UST vs. DLSZ
3:00 p.m. – Ateneo vs. FEU-D

Boys'
9 a.m. – FEU-D vs. ADU
11 a.m. – DLSZ vs. UST
1 p.m. – UE vs. UPIS
3 p.m. – Ateneo vs. NUNS

Far Eastern University-Diliman finally broke into the win column, snapping its two-game skid with a 25-14, 25-15, 25-19 sweep of University of the Philippines Integrated School in the UAAP Season 89 High School Girls’ Volleyball Tournament on Friday at the Paco Arena Events and Sports Center in Manila.

It was a challenging start for the Baby Tamaraws, who finished as runners-up last season, but the straight-set victory over the Fighting Maroons should provide a much-needed boost in confidence as they continue to work on the finer details of their game.

“Kailangan lang namin siguro mag-focus dun sa mga ginagawa namin kasi masyadong marami kaming ine-error. Siguro yun yung kailangan naming mas i-improve pa. Maganda naman ‘yung ginalaw ngayon ng mga bata pero sana, kung ano man ‘yung kulang pa namin, sana ma-improve pa,” said FEU-D head coach Joanne Bunag.

“Sana magtuloy-tuloy na kasi galing kami ng dalawang talo. Sana itong unang panalo namin, magtuloy-tuloy na hanggang sa madala namin doon sa second round. Maraming games pa, malayo pa, mahaba pa ang season.”

The Baby Tamaraws quickly built a 16-6 advantage in the third set, their biggest lead of the frame, after a three-point run capped by back-to-back kills from Joeyana Bongo.

FEU-D remained in control from there, with Nigerian standout MJ Udeagbala sending the Baby Tamaraws to match point at 24-15.

UPIS, however, fended off four match points, capitalizing on two FEU-D attack errors and a pair of attacks from Anya Callo to stay alive. Udeagbala finally broke through on the fifth attempt, drilling the match-winning kill.

Udeagbala powered FEU-D with 14 points, tallying 10 attacks and four blocks in the 67-minute affair. Diosa Perez chipped in nine points, while Bongo added eight.

Portia Asistio kept the Baby Tamaraws’ offense in rhythm with nine excellent sets, while Querstine Paragas anchored the backcourt with 14 excellent digs and nine excellent receptions on 11 attempts.

“Syempre ang una munang goal namin pumasok muna kami dun sa Final Four. Parang last season, ganun din naman ginawa namin, tinrabaho lang namin. Sabi ko nga dun sa mga bata, ang goal muna natin, pumasok sa top four. Ngayon, after ng top four, tsaka na namin tatrabahuhin makuha ‘yung pinaka-goal namin. Alam naman natin, lahat naman siguro ng teams gusto talaga mag-champion,” said Bunag, as FEU-D looks to build on its silver-medal finish from last season.

Niña Abad paced the Junior Fighting Maroons with 10 points, including eight attacks and two aces.

With the victory, FEU-D improved to 1-2 and joined the three-way tie for fifth through seventh place.

UPIS, meanwhile, dropped to 1-2 after suffering its second straight loss following a season-opening victory over University of the East.

Pinoy wrestlers get shutout in Asiad wrestling

Filipino wrestlers Joe Fer Callado and Jason Baucas suffered defeats in their respective bouts Thursday at the 20th Asian Games at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center.

Callado was defeated by Uzbekistan’s Alisher Ganiev, 9-0, in the Men’s Greco-Roman 60kg.

While Baucas fell to Indonesia’s Andika Sulaeman by the same score in Men’s Greco-Roman 77kg.

Neither Filipino was able to put a point on the board, allowing their respective opponents to secure victories by technical superiority.

Callado and Baucas are supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Yape doubles medal haul for Philippine taekwondo

Candelaria and Yape via POC/PSC Media

One more medal for poomsae.

Jeus Yape captured the bronze medal in the men’s individual poomsae competition Thursday at Toyohashi Gymnasium, adding another medal to the Philippines’ haul in the event.

Just hours after Juliana Candelaria claimed silver in the women’s individual event, Yape delivered a score of 9.0900 to secure third place.

“I’m happy po with my performance. Ginawa ko po ‘yung best ko, ginawa ko po lahat ng makakaya ko,” Yape said in an interview with One Sports.

South Korea’s Yun Kyusung topped the field with a score of 9.3800, while Thailand’s Navin Pinthasute took silver with 9.2800.

Coach Jeordan Domingez credited Yape for overcoming the pressure that comes with competing on the Asian stage.

“I’m so happy for him. I know the feeling because we also competed in this competition before, and I’m very happy and proud of Jeus, together with Mika, because they conquered that fear [of pressure],” Domingez said.

Yape, meanwhile, vowed to build on his performance as he looks ahead to his upcoming competitions.

“Right now I’m happy sa journey ko po, and I’ll just keep moving forward,” he said.

Yape will switch to VR mode as he sees action in virtual taekwondo round of 16 on Friday, 10am (Manila time).

Taekwondo, supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission, now has two medals courtesy of poomsae.