As expected, Team Lakay standouts Jean Claude Saclag and Gina Iniong delivered for Team Pilipinas.
The two MMA stalwarts both produced gold medals to pace Team Philippines in the kickboxing tournament of the 31st Southeast Asian Games, Friday at the Bac Ninh Multipurpose Stadium in Bac Ninh, Vietnam.
Saclag needed to overcome Thailand’s Chaleamlap Santidongsakun, 2-1, to annex his second straight Games title in the men’s low kick minus-63.5 kg.
On her part, Iniong added the women’s low kick minus-60 kg gold with a similar result to another Thai in Waraporn Jaiteang, 2-1. The new mother won the women’s kick light 55 kg event in 2019 in Pasay.
Four more silver medals were added by four female kickboxers to the medal haul, making it two golds-four silvers-two bronzes as of the end of full contact and low kick disciplines, and with kick light events still to be contested.
Three silvers came from the full contact fighters with Renalyn Desalla absorbing a 0-3 defeat against hometown bet Nga Nguyen Thi Hang for the silver in the minus-48 kg, Gretel De Paz ended with the same medal in the minus-56 kg with a 0-3 loss to Indonesia’s Diandra Pieter, and Zephanie Ngaya taking that minus-65 kg silver off a similar 0-3 loss to Vietnam’s Vang Huynh Thi Kim.
Claudine Veloso rounded up the silver medalists with Indonesian Amanda La Loupatty taking the gold instead with a 3-0 win over the former in the women’s low kick minus-52 kg.
