Honorio Banario clinched the Philippines’ third spot in the finals after a dominant performance at the 2024 Asian Kickboxing Championship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Banario achieved back-to-back knockout victories over two different opponents and a walkover win against Iraq on Day 3 of the tournament that drew more than 400 athletes from Asia.
In the men’s K1 -75kg division, Banario was declared the winner after his Iraqi opponent failed to enter the ring, reportedly too fatigued from a grueling earlier match against a Pakistani fighter.
Banario, a veteran mixed martial artist and the most seasoned member of the Philippine kickboxing team, had already demonstrated his prowess by defeating Cambodia’s Chheng Leang and India’s Joshi Makarand Vilas, both via first-round knockouts in the elimination and quarterfinal rounds, respectively.
Banario now advances to the finals, where he will face either Chao Luo of China or Rayimjonov Davlatbek of Uzbekistan for the gold medal.
In other exciting developments for the Philippines, Gina Araos secured a place in the finals of the women’s Low Kick -56kg division, where she will take on Indonesia’s Lumbangtungkup Aprilia Eka Putri.
Hergie Bacyadan also advanced to the women’s K1 -70kg category finals after a devastating knockout win over Cambodia’s Samnang Raksa on Wednesday.
So far, the Philippines has claimed bronze medals from Daryl Chulipas in the men’s full-contact -51kg division, Claudine Veloso in the women’s K1 -52kg category, Lance Airon Villamer in the men’s point-fighting -63kg division, and Felex Dave Cantores and Renalyn Dacquel.
