Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio proved to be too much for Vy Sreysros of Cambodia on Wednesday, scoring a 5-0 win in the semifinals of the women’s featherweight class and leading four other Pinoys into the boxing finals of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games here.
Also scoring big wins at the Chroy Changvar Center Hall G were Rogen Ladon, Ian Clark Bautista, Norlan Petecio, and John Marvin.
So far, seven out of 12 Pinoy boxers have advanced to the finals, with the other two being Tokyo Olympian Irish Magno and Riza Pasuit. The pair triumphed in their semis matches last Tuesday in the women’s flyweight and lightweight categories, respectively.
“Obviously, we’re happy to have seven boxers so far in the finals. But the job is not done yet, and we have to stay focused as there’s a bigger challenge in the finals,” said Marcus Jarwin Manalo, the Secretary-General of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP).
Petecio aims for redemption after a frustrating bronze medal finish in Vietnam last year. He will face Ratna Sari Devi of Indonesia in the finals on Sunday.
Ladon used his jabs and effective counterpunching to pull off a 4-1 win over Malaysian Muhammad Abdul Qaiyum in their flyweight clash. That set up a battle for the gold this Saturday against 2021 World Championships bronze medalist Thanarat Saengphet of Thailand.
Ladon, a back-to-back Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in 2019 and 2022, started the fight on a blazing note but turned a little sluggish in the second round before regaining his bearings in the last round to get the nod from the judges.
Bautista followed Ladon into the gold medal round after crushing Naing Latt of Myanmar with a unanimous 5-0 decision victory in the men’s featherweight class. He will face Indonesian Asri Udin also on Saturday.
Norlan Petecio, the 21-year-old younger brother of Nesthy, bested Singaporean Jun Jie Velvan through a 4-1 split decision. He enters a title duel with Thai Bunjong Sinsiri in the men’s lightweight category on Sunday.
Marvin, a Filipino-British boxer, blasted Cambodian Nasredinov Anvar with a 5-0 unanimous decision triumph, arranging a championship showdown on Sunday with Thailand’s Weerapon Jongjoho in the men’s light heavyweight division.
Three more Filipinos will also go for finals berths on Thursday.
Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam faces Timor Leste’s Edegar Foe Quintas Da Silva in the men’s bantamweight class. Meanwhile, Markus Cezar Tongco battles Manh Cuong Nguyen of Vietnam in the men’s heavyweight semifinals.
Paul Julyfer Bascon clashes against Touch Davit of Cambodia in the men’s light welterweight semifinals.
Only light flyweight Mark Lester Durens and welterweight James Palicte have lost their preliminary fights.
