An 11-man Philippine fencing team, led by the Felipe brothers, is set to compete in the Coupe de Monde on December 16 and 17 at the Zeer Rungsit Shopping Center in Bangkok, Thailand.
Prince John “Tipoy” Felipe and Shawn Nicollei “Kulay” Felipe, top men’s fencers of the University of the East, will join the junior edition of the men’s foil.
This will get the Felipes ready for the coming fencing meet of the 85th University Athletic Association of the Philippines, when it returns in February 2023, following a three-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
UE coach Rolando “Amat” Canlas Jr. said that the tournament is a tough competition at par with some of the best in the world.
Canlas added that the presence of fencers from France, Great Britain, Australia, South Korea and the United States makes the competition challenging and difficult.
“It’s a strong competition because world champions (in cadet and junior) are joining the event. It’s going to be a great experience for our fencers,” said Canlas.
Also going to Bangkok are UE standouts Robert Caber and Eytria Olarte, who will participate in the women’s foil.
With them are Canlas Fencing athletes, including Dustin Tan of University of the Philippines, Keonn Davies, Clyde Guinto and Antonio Manuel.
“We hope they make it to the next stage, and from there we’ll see what will happen,” added Canlas, a former national team head coach.
Manuel is fresh from winning two gold medals (individual and team) in the 1st Malaysian Minime event in Kuala Lumpur last week.
In the women’s side, also seeing action are Janna Catantan of University of Santo Tomas, Marina Carbonel of UP and Kaijinsei dela Serna of CF.