By: Waylon Galvez
KUALA LUMPUR – Filipino fencers continued to make their presence felt on the international stage as three young athletes climbed the podium in the men’s epee category of the Malaysia leg of the Asian Cadet Cup (ACC) 2025 on Thursday at the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Hall here.
Jacob Mayo captured his first ACC gold medal after the 14-year-old Reedley International School standout edged fellow Filipino Oscar del Castillo of La Salle Green Hills, 15-13, in a thrilling final.
For del Castillo, it was another strong outing, as he settled for silver after winning gold in the Taiwan leg of the ACC earlier this year. This marks his second finals appearance in the tournament’s 2025 calendar.
Mayo’s victory was a testament to his steady improvement. From a 35th-place finish in his ACC debut to 12th place in Taiwan, his persistence paid off with this breakthrough win over his compatriot.
“I feel very proud that l’m able to represent the country well at this level. I feel very happy to get this high achievement. It’s a big improvement from my first two ACC,” said Mayo, who was guided by coach Alex Ragot of Republic Fencing and Ateneo Fencing.
“I believe that despite my age and short amount of time (fencing), the support of my parents (mom Mel and dad JL), my coaches and teammates, plus the hard work and my faith in God led to this win in the ACC,” he added.
Sidney Peralta of PAREF Northfield also made his mark, clinching bronze after a narrow 15-14 semifinal loss to del Castillo. Mayo, meanwhile, secured his finals berth with a 15-13 upset of top seed Zeng Zi-Ling from Chinese Taipei.
Mayo impressed throughout the competition, posting a 9-2 record in the pool stage — 4-1 in the first round and 5-1 in the second — to earn the No. 3 seed and a bye into the round of 32. He cruised past Malaysia’s Lucas Jia Jun Chin, 15-6, in the round of 16 and defeated compatriot Franco Pediapco of Homeschool Global, 15-11, in the quarterfinals. Pediapco finished seventh overall among 33 participants.
In the women’s foil, the Filipinas fell short of the podium. Miyake Capina of De La Salle Zobel (16th), Victoria Ebdane of Homeschool Global (14th), Jodie Tan of St. Jude Catholic School (18th), Willa Galvez of University of the East (25th), Hagia del Castillo of Poveda (13th), Yuna Canlas of University of the East (23rd), and Victoria Malvar of Faith Academy (31st) all battled valiantly but failed to reach the medal rounds.
Hong Kong swept the women’s foil podium among 44 participants, with Alice Man Ying Ching taking gold, Zareena Leung Yan Kiu bagging silver, and Kwok Sze Yi and Fan Bo Yee sharing bronze honors.
In the women’s epee, Robyn Sykat of Poveda placed 18th, Summer Feliciano of Beacon School ranked 27th, and Natalie de Jesus of Stonyhurst Southville International (Lipa) finished 33rd out of 37 fencers.
Meanwhile, Jethro Chan of Homeschool of Asia Pacific, the country’s lone entry in the men’s foil, placed 24th overall out of 41 competitors.
With the individual events completed over the first two days, attention now shifts to the team competitions on Friday and Saturday.
The Philippines’ women’s foil team — Capina, Ebdane, Tan, and del Castillo — will face No. 2 seed Hong Kong in the semifinals, while No. 1 Singapore awaits the winner of Kazakhstan and Macao.
In the men’s epee team event, Mayo, del Castillo, Peralta, and Pediapco, seeded No. 3, will battle No. 2 Singapore, while top seed Chinese Taipei takes on No. 4 Malaysia.
