University of Santo Tomas’ Khrizzie Pabulayan upset veteran schoolmate Kimberly Pantoja to clinch the -48kg gold via points on a yuko, Wednesday at the La Salle Greenhills St. Benilde Gym.
With 8 judoka fielded in, the competition in this weight division started in the quarterfinals stage. The two judoka from University of the Philippines, Happy Panganiban and Sri Anabo, joined Pabulayan and Pantoja in the Final Four after their respective victories. Panganiban peppered Shaira Battala with a flurry of attacks to emerge victorious. Her teammate Anabo scored a waza-ari to upend Claudine Nargatan, also from UE.
In the other quarterfinal matches, Pantoja and Pabulayan booked their semifinal seats, both via ippon. Pantoja took care of Regale Guion, while Pabulayan finished off Stephanie Juat in just over a minute.
The Thomasians then secured their places in the final, albeit in contrasting fashion. Pantoja completely dominated her match against Panganiban to reach the Final. On the other hand, Pabulayan stunned Anabo, who was leading the contest, with a throw to end the match with an ippon at the 1:04 mark.
https://youtu.be/QvG1meNS3eI
Anabo snared one of the bronze medals at stake to prevent a shutout for the Lady Maroons. The UP veteran stopped Batalla midway into the match. Battala’s teammate Nargatan salvaged a bronze for their school after another last minute ippon over Panganiban.
