Darwin, Australia—John Ignatius Macas clinched a gold medal in the men’s boxing competitions of the 2019 Arafura Games Saturday after beating Ivan Pavich of New Zealand via referee-stopped-contest at the Darwin Convention Centre.
The 19-year-old flyweight from Cagayan De Oro City won after the referee stopped the fight in the second round, giving the Philippines its lone gold in boxing here in the country’s campaign in the multisports competition supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and Standard Insurance.
Following Macas’ win, the Philippines totaled 31 gold medals in the final day of competitions with the men’s basketball, sepak takraw and badminton teams still playing as of press time.
Jhon Christian Noces lost to Tom Hanns of New Zealand in the semifinals, but won a bronze medal for reaching the final four of the men’s welterweight division.
The men’s beach volleyball team defeated Australia 7, 21-10, 21-12, Saturday to also claim a bronze medal in final day of competitions of the 2019 Arafura Games at the Darwin Waterfront.
The duo of Johnrel Amora and Hachaliah Gilbuena bounced back after their semifinal defeat against Samoa, 23-25, 21-15, 15-11, to salvage a bronze medal in an impressive campaign for the Filipino spikers.
On their way to the bronze, the Philippines went undefeated after two games in pool play, before beating Vanuatu and Tuvalu to reach the semifinals.
The 2019 Arafura Games drew to a close Saturday night with an elaborate closing ceremony that included a tribute to the Arafura Sea, where the name of the Games was derived as well as the more than 1,500 athletes from 40 countries in the Asia Pacific and other parts of the world who competed.