RP paddlers take home 1 silver, 2 bronzes

By Anthony Deleon, INQ7.net

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT -- Philippine paddlers Jeremiah Tambor and John Oliver Victorio bagged one silver while Norwell Cajes and Marvin Amposta got one bronze each in canoe/kayak competitions held here Sunday at the 23rd Southeast Asian Games.

Tambor and Victorio, who both hail from Taytay and are competing for the first time in the 11-nation biennial meet, took the silver in the 500-m men's canoe double in 1:49.50 behind the Indonesian duo of Asnawir and Romadi, who got the gold with a clock-in of 1:48.16.

Tambor and Victorio engaged Aung Lin and Win Htike in the last 150 meters at the Malawaan fishing port, then overtook the Myanmar duo in the final 50 meters to clinch the silver.

Aung and Win settled for the bronze in 1:49.85, ahead of the Thai pair of Thammarat Phaophandee and Rangsan Mausum in 1:53.15

Vietnam came in fifth in 2:15.29.

The silver and two bronzes surpassed the lone bronze medal achievement by Carmelito Dacasin in canoe singles division in Vietnam two years ago.

Head coach Len Escalante fondly recalls that both Tambor and Victorio used to be spectators of the RP team when they did their rounds at the Manggahan Floodway.

"These kids used to hang around and practice with us. I saw a potential medal winner in them and so I recruited them to come on board. I am not disappointed, because they were able to bring in a silver medal," she said.

Cajes, 20, competing for the first time in the biennial meet, won the bronze in the 500-m canoe single in 2:02.96 won by Nguyen Duc Canch of Vietnam in 1:59.84. Yuyu Fernando of Indonesia got the silver in 2:00.41.

Amposta, 20, from Abucay, Bataan, duplicated the feat of Cajes in the 500-m kayak single in 1:48.74, ahead of Vietnam's Nguyen Dinh Ha, who clocked 1:50.90.

The event was won by Phone Myint Tayzar in 1:46.47, beating silver medalist Indonesia's Sayadin in 1:47.30.

April Mae Penalosa failed in her bid and wound up fourth in 2:13.23 in the 500-m kayak women single ruled by Sarce Aronggaer of Indonesia in 2:01.61.

Naw Ahie Lashe of Myanmar got the silver in 2:03.70, while Dong Thi Cach of Vietnam took the bronze in 2:05.75.

What motivated them was the challenge posed by former Philippine Sports Commission commissioner and now purchasing officer Freddie Mendoza, who told head coach Escalante that this year's canoe/kayak team will not win a medal.

"The kids took that as a challenge and saw to it that they would be ready during the games," said Escalante, a former national volleyball player and member of the team that won the last gold in volleyball in SEA Games in 1993 in Singapore.

Escalante further noted that the Philippine canoe team members are younger than those of the other competing countries.

Association president Dr. Sim Chi Tat was happy with the achievement of his athletes.

"I'm happy because they surpassed the one bronze achievement in Vietnam. Our athletes are young and do not have enough experience unlike our foreign rivals. But they showed they can win a medal against tough opposition," Sim added.