Noelito Jose Jr. was left yearning for his first gold at the Southeast Asian Games after missing the chance on Wednesday in the men’s individual epee event of the 33rd SEA Games at Island Hall, Fashion Island Mall.
Jose entered the final round with a 12-8 lead but could not hold off Vietnamese Phuoc Den Nguyen, who tied the score at 14-all before landing the decisive hit to claim the gold, 15-14.
“It was a sorry loss. It was almost a gold for us but it turned out to be another silver finish,” Jose said. “Very regrettable but I will move on from this.”
Jose had earlier beaten Thailand’s Chinnaphat Chaloemchanen 15-3 in the semifinals after edging Vietnamese Nguyen Tien Nhat 14-13 in the quarterfinals. But in the finale, the victory slipped away.
“That is the only medal that I do not have — the gold in SEA Games. I thought I could get it, but it slipped away,” he said. “I will come back stronger for next year’s overseas competition like the Asian Games.”
A SEA Games veteran since 2015 in Singapore, Jose has previously won bronze in 2019, along with three consecutive silver medals, including those earned in 2022 in Hanoi and 2023 in Phnom Penh.
Paris Olympian Samantha Catantan and her sister Janna settled for bronze in the women’s individual foil, while Jhester Concepcion and Eunice Villanueva claimed the men’s individual sabre bronze.
(C) POC Media
