Paris Olympics-bound EJ Obiena scored a twin-kill in Poland as he led a rousing end to the first half of 2024 for Philippine athletes.
Obiena, the second-ranked pole vaulter in the world, flashed his form in setting a season best of 5.97 meter on his way to gold in the Irena Szewinska Memorial event in Bydgoszcz.
The 28-year Pinoy star outclassed nine rivals led by Greek Emmanouil Karalis (5.92m) and local bet Piotr Lisek (5.75m), who finished second and third in the World Athletics Gold event.
A few days later, Obiena followed this up with a record-smashing triumph in the Czeslaw Cybulski Memorial over in Poznan.
The Asian champion cleared 5.87 meters that erased the meet standard of 5.80m and the five-year-old stadium mark of 5.80m both set by Lisek. Home bet Lisek settled for silver with 5.82m while Saudi Arabia’s Hussain Al-Hizam (5.62) took the bronze.
With this double hit, Obiena earned the nod of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) as the top performing Filipino athlete for the month of June.
Making the honor roll as well were boxers Carlo Paalam and Hergie Bacyadan, who spearheaded the advance of more bets to the coming Paris Olympiad.
Paalam, silver medalist in Tokyo, sealed a return stint in the Games with a unanimous decision over India’s Sachin Siwach in the semifinals of the men’s 57kg class in the 2nd Boxing World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Thailand.
Bacyadan secured her Olympic debut by beating quarterfinal foe Maryelis Yriza of Venezuela, also via a 5-0 shutout, in the quota bout of the women’s 75kg division.
Similarly booking Paris trips were Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina, who finished in the Top 60 of the women’s Olympic golf rankings, and Kiyomi Watanabe who got a Continental quota in judo.
The Philippine team to the Paris Paralympics welcomed new additions in Jerold Mangliwan, who met the high performance standard in the T52 400m, and Cendy Asusano, who qualified in the women’s F54 javelin throw.
Elsewhere, the Gilas Pilipinas women’s U18 team and the Meralco Bolts grabbed their shining moments.
The Gilas girls pummeled finals rival Lebanon, 95-64, to win the Division B tiara in the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup in Shenzhen, China and earn promotion to the elite Division A as the Bolts toppled defending champion San Miguel Beer in Game 6 of the Season 48 Philippine Cup title series, 80-78, for their first-ever PBA crown.
