World no. 1 in e-kata James De Los Santos made clear of his intentions of staying on top.
The long-time internationalist added a 17th gold to his cabinet after taking the 3# Katana Intercontinental Karate League e-Tournament, Monday afternoon.
De Los Santos did not just defeat Costa Rica’s Juan Achio in the Finals, but also did it in style after winning it with the first-ever score over 26 in e-Kata at 26.1-25.1, using Unsu yet again.
The two-time Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist asserted his mastery over Slovenia’s Nejc Strenisa in the semifinals, while the Central American earlier eliminated former world number one Eduardo Garcia of Portugal.
De Los Santos also won over Strenisa by a full point, 25.1-24.1, after a solid performance of Gojushiho Dai, to arrange a first-ever battle with Achio.
The Filipino earlier dominated Morocco’s Abdellatif Choukri, 24.9-23.7, using Sansai, in the quarterfinals.
His student, Julia Ian Marcos, also made strides in the rankings after bagging another medal, a bronze in the female senior category.
The 18-year-old lost to Slovenia’s Jana Vanusanikova, 22.6-23.7, in the semifinals for that third-place finish.
