After the Warriors gamely battled the Thais to a 16-all deadlock in the first quarter, their rivals erupted with a critical 16-0 blast in surging ahead 32-16 before Alfie Cabañog broke the long dry spell with a short jumper with a 1:07 to go in the first half.
From a 34-16 bulge, the Thais, perennial men’s wheelchair ASEAN Para Games champions, continued to pour it on and stretched the lead to 45-24 entering the pivotal final period where they continued their relentless offense on the way to their second win in three outings in Group A.
The Pilipinas Warriors absorbed their third straight loss and will face defending Iran, which routed China 72-42 in the other group match, in rolling to its third straight win.
“Maganda sana ang simula kaya lang hindi kami nakasabay sa Thailand sa second quarter kaya hindi na nakahabol,” said John Rey Escalante, who shared scoring honors with Cabañog with 12 points each.
Compounding the PH squad’s miseries was the early foul trouble of vital cog Kenneth Christopher Tapia, who played with four fouls most of the way and had six points.
Sharpshooter Athin Singdong paced Thailand with 18 points while Aekkasit Jumjarean and Natthakan Chaotrakarn chipped in with 10 and 9 points, respectively, for the winners.
Meanwhile, Daniella Catacutan lost her first elimination match in BC1 Pool B of the individual female Boccia event, bowing to Phromsiri Satanan of Thailand, 0-8, at the Hangzhou Gymnasium.
Ahead by just one point after the first end, Phromsiri surged to a 6-0 lead following a near-perfect roll in the second end on the way to the lopsided win.
In this precision sport specifically designed for athletes with cerebral palsy and other motor-related conditions, the game is divided into four parts called “end.”
Each player in the individual contest is given six to score. The goal is to throw the leader balls nearest to the white target ball called “jack.”
Catacutan is classified at BC1 which is assigned for players who can throw by the hand or foot.
Male compatriot David Gonzaga also suffered a similar blowout loss in the form of a 14-0 spanking from Thai Vongsa Watcharaphon in their BC2 Pool A match at Court 1.
