Subic—Phillip Delarmino and Ariel Lee Lampacan earned two tough victories to win the gold medals in the 30th Southeast Asian Games’ muaythai competition Sunday at the Exhibition and Convention Center here.
Delarmino, the bronze medalist in the 2018 IFMA World Championship, survived a late flurry by Vietnam’s Long Doan Nguyen to rule the 57kg division via unanimous decision, 29-28.
On the other hand, Baguio-native Lampacan bucked a lethargic start to his bout against Sakchai Chamchi, ending the match strong to win via UD (29-28) as well and emerge as champion of the 54kg weight class.
Ryan Jakiri, Islay Bomogao, and Jenelyn Olsim could not say the same, settling for silver in their respective finals matches.
The most crushing of them all was Jakiri’s loss in the 63.5kg division.
Jakiri, who has been competing in ONE Championship, lost via referee’s stoppage during the second round of his bout against Thailand’s Norapat Khundam. Before the stoppage, Jakiri appeared all set to snare the gold as he dictated the tempo of the match to the delight of the jampacked hometown crowd.
Figured in a tight clinch with 1:26 left in the second round, the Thai connected on a well-placed knee to the body of Jakiri that resulted in a knockdown. Though the 27-year-old native of Zamboanga City was able to make the count, the referee decided to stop the bout, not seeing Jakiri fit to continue.
Meanwhile, Bomogao fell to Thailand’s Ketmanee Chasing via a 29-28 decision in the women’s 45kg division while Olsim lost via a lopsided decision, 30-27, to Vietnam’s Bui Yen Ly in the 54kg class.
