FILE-The Philippines’ Carlo Paalam (blue) and Ireland’s Brendan Irvine during their men’s fly (48-52kg) preliminaries boxing match during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (Photo by Buda Mendes / POOL / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines—Tokyo Olympian Carlo Paalam and Paul Bascon made it nine Filipino reaching the gold medal round at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on Thursday at Chroy Changvar Convention Center: Hall G in Cambodia.
Paalam, the Olympic silver medalist, outclassed Timor Leste’s Edegar Foe Quintas Da Silva via unanimous decision, 5-0, to advance in the men’s 54kg class.
Paalam clashes with Indonesia’s Aldoms Suguro, who Vietnam’s Van An Tran in the other semis bracket, for the flyweight gold.
Bascon also picked up a dominant win, leaving nothing to chance as he knocked out Cambodia’s Touch Davit in the second round of the men’s 60kg semifinals. He faces Thailand’s Rujakran Juntrong in the finals.
“Obviously, we’re happy to have nine boxers 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,” said Marcus Manalo, secretary general of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap).
Marcus Tongco, however, was not as fortunate after he fell to Vietnam’s Manh Cuong Nguyen in the men’s 92kg semis and settled for the bronze.
Aside from Paalam and Bascon, seven other Filipinos have already assured themselves of silver medals namely Rogen Ladon (flyweight), Ian Clark Bautista (featherweight), John Marvin (light heavyweight), Irish Magno (flyweight), Riza Pasuit (lightweight) and Petecio siblings Nesthy (featherweight) and Norlan (lightweight).
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