Saclag assured of SEAG medal

MANILA – Filipino kickboxer Jean Claude S a c l a g a s s ured t he country of a medal in the 31st Southeast Asian Games after winning his quarterfinals match on Sunday in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The Baguio City-native Saclag kicked off his gold medal defense by dominating Souliyavong Latxasak of Laos in the men’s l ow kick - 63.5 kilograms to be assured of at least a bronze medal.

Saclag, a bronze medal winner i n t he Asian Games in 2014, was the lone bright spot for the Team Philippines as Carlos Alvarez, Jomar Balangui and Kurt Lubrica suffered defeats.

Alvarez lost to Nguyen The Huong of Vietnam, 3- 0, in the full contact men’s -67kg., Balangui was defeated by Toch Rachhan of Cambodia, 3-0, in the full contact men’s -57kg., Lubrica bowed to Sungnot Chaiwat of Thailand, 2-1, in the men’s low kick -54kg category.

Kickboxing is one of the first events to kick off competition in the Hanoi Games, with the final day of competitions to be held on May 13, a day after the opening ceremony of the regional showcase.

Me a n wh i l e , t h e

with two free throws.

Aside from their offense, the Fighting Maroons also showed splendid defense in the overtime period against the Blue Eagles as they forced the latter to three 24 second violations.

Lucero finished the game w i t h d o u b l e - d o u b l e 1 7 points and 13 rebounds as

the Fighting Maroons took a 1-0 edge in the best-of-three titular showdown.

Rivero top- scored for the Fighting Maroons with 19 points, Spencer chipped in 13 markers, while Tamayo and Diouf also hit double figures on offense with 10 points each.

The Fighting Maroons were already on the brink of defeat with the Blue Eagles leading 6860 but back-to-back conversions from Maodo Malick Diouf to slice the deficit to 64-68.

The Blue Eagles widened it to 70-64 with a basket from Raffy Verano but a three-point play by Lucero followed by a three-pointer by James Spencer knotted the score at 70-all.

Angelo Kouame led the Blue Eagles with 18 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, four assists, and two steals, while Negrense Samjosef Belangel and Raffy Verano each tallied 17 points as well./