Differently abled carry torch for Phl

KUALA LUMPUR – Wheelchair-bound thrower Cendy Asusano, tanker Ernie Gawilan and the national chess team combined for three gold medals as Team Philippines surpassed its previous output in the ninth ASEAN Para Games here yesterday.

Asusano, 27, posted a 5.50m throw to claim the shotput gold for F54, her third following her victories in javelin and discus throw.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Ngoc took the silver with 5.06m while Maritess Burce finished third with 4.85m for her second bronze.

The Donsol, Sorsogon native Asusano thus joined sprint sensation Cielo Honasan in the elite group of Filipino triple gold medalists.

She later dedicated her feat to the country and her family, fiance Juanito Mingarine and three-year-old daughter Chantal.

“This is for our country and my family, who all inspired me to win here,” said Asusano.

Juanito Mingarine was also a member of the wheelchair basketball team that beat Myanmar, 49-41, for the 5-on-5 division bronze at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC).

Marcos Rabasto Jr., Alfie Cabanog, Rene Macabenguil and Marlon Nacita were the other members of the squad.

Mingarine, with Rabasto, Macabenguil, Cleford Trocino and John Rey Escalante, also took the 3-on-3 bronze after edging Laos.

Over at the National Aquatics Center, Gawilan closed out the country’s campaign in the pool with a victory in the 200m individual medley for SM8. He clocked 2:50.13 to beat Malaysia’s James Wong Tien Yu (2:50.98) and Vietnam’s Dang Van Cong (3:20.05).

It was Gawilan’s second gold on top of a silver and a bronze to help propel the swim team, mentored by Tony Ong, to a 3-3-5 (goldsilver-bronze) haul.

The 26-year-old Gawilan, a Paralympian, also matched his two-gold output in the 2015 Singapore staging of the meet.

“All I feel right now is happiness,” said Gawilan. Turn to Page 17