HANGZHOU—Jones Llabres Inso gave the Philippines its second bronze medal from wushu in the 19th Asian Games on Monday when setbacks came one after the other in many fronts and the women’s 3×3 basketball team had to withdraw because it only had two accredited players.
A Taolu specialist, the 26-year-old Inso, competing out of La Trinidad in Benguet, salvaged third place in wushu men’s taijiquan-taijijian all-around event for the second bronze medal after Patrick King Perez bagged the same medal in men’s individual poomsae of taekwondo on Sunday.
“I prepared very hard for the Asian Games,” said Inso, who missed a medal in the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games last May. “I reviewed by past performances and this is the result—a bronze.”
Inso scored 9.746 points in barehand taijiquan and 9.470 in swordplay of taijijian for a total of 19.216 in the event dominated by China’s Gao Haonan with 19.666 points and Hong Kong’s Hui Tak Yan with 19.494 points.
“It’s really a challenge to perform here,” said Inso, who’s bound for the World Combat Games and the World Wushu Championships after the Asiad. “I only used to watch my opponents here perform in the past, now I competed against them.”
Inso’s bronze bore the burden of Agatha Wong’s failure to repeat as bronze medalist after she ranked fourth in the same discipline Sunday.
The day, however, started sour for Team Philippines whose participation here is supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Sports Commission after games organizers denied an appeal by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas for two replacement players in the women’s 3×3 squad.
Coach Pat Aquino said they had no choice but to withdraw because they’re only left with Camille Nolasco and Louna Ozar after last-minute replacements Cielo Pagdulagan and Marga Villanueva were thumbed down.
They were supposed to take the place of veterans Camille Clarin and Angel Surada.
Aquino apologized saying he felt sorry for the players who were supposed to see action in the Philippine women’s 3×3 debut in the Asiad. The Philippines was scheduled to play Jordan for its first game.
The country lost another top medal hopeful when Tokyo Olympics veteran Kurt Barbosa dropped his opening round match to Uzbekistan’s Omonjon Otajonov in taekwondo’s Kyorugi (free sparring).
Barbosa started tentatively but rallied furiously to tie the count at 14-all at the end of the exciting two-round contest in the men’s -58-kilogram division at the Lin’an Sports Culture and Exhibition Centre here.
But to Team Philippines’ disappointment, the Uzbek was declared winner due to superiority.
Suffering the same fate were Veronica Garces in women’s -49 kgs as she lost to taller third seed Mobina Nematzadeh of Iran in the round-of-16 after beating Tajikistan’s Shirinmohi Mirshakarzoda.
The men’s boxing team suffered its first casualty, Aaron Jude Bado, who lost his Asian Games debut to Thitisan Panmot of Thailand in a 51-kg match that ended in an RSC-L (Referee Stopped Contest-Injury) in the second round.
The Filipino suffered a huge cut on his left eyebrow that prompted ring official to stop the fight with 16 seconds remaining in the round.
POC president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, meanwhile, said felt that JR Francisco got the raw end of the judging as the Filipino skateboarder missed the podium also Monday in men’s park.
Francisco ended up fourth with an 83.58 at the QT Roller Sports Centre after a solid second run, but China’s Ye Chen bagged gold with 84.41 on his second run while Japan’s Yuro Nagahara and Kensuke Sasaoka took the silver and bronze with 84.00 and 83.66.
“We were robbed of the bronze,” said Tolentino, who cheered for nine-year-old Mazel Paris Alegado as she made heads turn despite finishing seventh in the girls’ side.