MANAMA – Filipino tanker Jamesray Ajido got the medal as promised, winning a silver medal in the boys' 100 meter (m) butterfly event, while Alas Pilipinas missed out on the same by losing to Iran in the third semi-final.third Asian Youth Games here.
Mr Ajido, 16, won the gold medal but settled for silver with a time of 55.11 seconds, behind only Iran's Mohammadmahdi Gholami, who won gold with a time of 54.75 seconds at the Khalifa Sports City Swimming Pool.
It was another medal on the international stage for the De La Salle-Greenhills veteran, who had won gold at the South Asian and Asian Age Group Championships in Bangkok and New Clark City in Tarlac respectively last year.
That feat increased the Philippines' total medal tally to six gold, six silver and seven bronze, placing it 8th in the overall medal standings, which was led by the fiery Chinese, who ran away with the overall crown with 42-33-14 (gold-silver-bronze).
The Nationals had a chance to ensure another silver medal in girls' volleyball, but they could not sustain the strong start and lost to the Iranians 26–28, 25–18, 25–19, 25–18, denying them a place in the finals and winning the gold medal.
Instead, there will be a fight between Iran versus Indonesia for that mint.
However, the Philippines will have a chance to console themselves with a bronze medal when they take on the Thais on Wednesday at the Isa Sports City.
Rose Almendralejo, who was selected from Tai Tung from Bacolod to strengthen this team of National University standouts, had a stellar performance with 25, 23 of which were offensive.
However, this was not to be because Iran had all the answers.
“It was really painful,” said regretful liberal Atasha Doroza. “We will try our best to get a bronze medal.”
In weightlifting at the Exhibition World Bahrain, Alexandra Ann Diaz, another niece of Tokyo Olympic gold winner Hidilyn Diaz, won the clean and jerk bronze medal to add to the other two medals won by her sister Princess J. Ann Diaz and J-R Colonia a day earlier.
Reigning world junior champion Jhody Peralta was, at the time of writing, vying for a medal, possibly a gold, in the girls' 53kg division.
Also in badminton at the EWB, Chris Evan Dosano, Ron Ezekiel Zacharias and Eve Bejsa all made hurdles in their preliminary rounds.
Mr Dosano beat Bahrain's Ali Alshador 21-5, 21-9, Mr Zakarias beat Maldives' Ibrahim Hamdi 21-8, 21-11 in boys' singles and Ms Bejasa beat Bangladeshi Margaret Biswas 21-9, 21-4 and Cambodian Mak Nitajuli 21-6, 21-6. Entering the Girls' Singles Round of 16. , joey villar
