A pair of rousing victories abroad gave Philippine squash a big reason to cheer before the year ends.
Jemyca Aribado reigned supreme in the women’s premier division of the Singapore Squash Open by beating heavy favorite Aika Azman of Malaysia, 3-1, in the final. In Malaysia, Matthew Lucente topped the Redtone 11th Kuala Lumpur Juniors Open’s Under-19 category.
“I’m on cloud nine. So this is how it feels like. Philippine squash is back where it should be,” said Philippine Squash Academy (PSA president Robert Bachmann.
PSA is the country’s national sports association for the sport.
It’s been a great ride for the squash team Philippines which won a total of two silver and six bronze medals in the KL Southeast Asian Games in September.
Under the guidance of Manny Boy Yam, a Filipino coach from New Zealand, Lucente won all his six matches in the tough KL tournament that drew a total of 776 players from 19 countries. He won his first match against local bet Yee Sian Siow. The met again in the finals and Lucente disposed of his foe in three sets, 11-1, 11-4, 11-6.
Meanwhile, it was a rousing win for Aribado who outlasted the tough Malaysian in 47 minutes with a final score of 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 13-11.
In the men’s premier division, the Philippines’ No. 1 Robert Garcia, slew three giants in the earlier rounds before falling prey to Chinese-Taipei’s James Huang in the final four, 11-8, 11-6.
It was the best-ever finish by a Filipino male player though in the history of the Open tourney.
Huang eventually lost to Ramit Tandon of India in the final.