Gilas Pilipinas looking good
TEAM Lakay lady fighter Gina Iniong succumb to Mei Yamaguchi in a tough unanimous decision loss in the main card of One Championship’s ‘Immortal Pursuit ‘at the Singapore Indoor Stadium late Friday evening.
Yamaguchi pulled off a sensational vic- tory in front of a passionate Singaporean crowd by routing Iniong who just saw action two weeks ago at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Iniong was a late replacement opponent for Yamaguchi who was suppose to challenge reigning women’s atomweight titlist Angela Lee for IN the end, Gilas Pilipinas had to lean on its veterans—chief of them, Jason Castro—to finish off stubborn Japan.
Castro fired five triple-spiked straight points in the final 1.50 to expand a 70-66 bubble that finally put an end to Japan’s upset pretensions.
Before that, naturalized Andray Blatche, the 6-foot11 former American, gave the Philippines an 8-point bulge midway into the fourth.
Without the duo’s heroics, the Filipinos could have suffered disastrous results in the face of Japan’s new-found power in the sport.
Indeed, it was a bit different—scary even— on Friday when the Filipinos found themselves being suddenly seriously challenged.
It, sure, helped that Japan played before a hometown crowd that came in droves to the Komazawa Olympic gym in Tokyo.
Arriving in blazing red shirts, the Japanese spectators cheered wildly, fueling their countrymen’s boldest bid yet to score a giant the belt.
The victory by Yamaguchi solidified her position as the top contender in ONE Championship’s talented female atomweight bracket.
After dealing with Iniong’s signature right hand and takedowns in the first round, Yamaguchi turned the tide in the second stanza by resorting to her superb grappling pedigree.
On the canvas, Yamaguchi continuously pummeled Iniong with thudding strikes and tried to bring the bout to a close with savvy submissions attempts.
Yamaguchi punctuated the marquee upset.
It must be noted that Japan has now also recruited several local skyscrapers of its own that can really rebound and accurately shoot as well.
Add the fact that Japan had also gotten a naturalized American that can dunk at will. Likewise, Japan now boasts of an American for a coach. He fires instructions in English, with a Japanese beside him translating them to Nippongo (Japanese).
But the Filipinos, a bit reeling from the winter cold (Chot Reyes and his coaching staff were wrapped in thick sweaters), were up to the challenge.
Despite limited training, they made up for this with their grit and determination, eventually winning the opener of the Fiba Asia qualifying series in rousing fashion 77-71.
But overall, the Filipinos could only smell the sweet scent of victory when the Japanese, unyielding like cows being led to the slaughterhouse, ran out of firepower at crunch time.
Repeatedly, the hosts rallied from deficit after deficit, and even grabbed a 40-37 lead in the third period after forcing the Filipinos into successive turnovers.
Only when Castro fired that triple that order was restored for the Gilas quintet, who are aiming for an almost impossible slot to the 2019 World Cup in China.
Gilas takes on Taiwan on Monday, a game we are favored to win—again.
Cash in on Castro—again? match-up by grinding out Iniong in the third frame, steering the former world title contender to a unanimous decision victory in their highly anticipated rematch three years in the making with the Baguio City MMA fighter winning via split decision.
In the main event, One welterweight world champion Ben Askren of the United States left an indelible mark in what was billed as the last bout of his illustrious martial arts career, defeating Japanese legend Shinya Aoki by way of first-round technical knockout.
It only took Askren 57 seconds to retain the welterweight division. Askren effortlessly secured the stoppage after Aoki pulled his American counterpart into his patented guard, giving the champion an opening to unleash heavy blows with ease. As Aoki started to cover up to defend himself, Askren relentlessly poured down a barrage of solid punches that left the referee with no other choice but to call a halt to the championship clash.
In the co-main event lightweight standout Amir Khan of Singapore figured in his most impressive performance yet, overwhelming lightweight veteran Adrian Pang with a showcase of impeccable striking and great takedown defense.
The 22-year-old Khan consistently kept Pang out of range with his combinations from the outside, while circling away from Pang’s most powerful blows. In the end, all three judges scored in favor of Khan who wins by unanimous decision after three rounds. Roderick Osis