KUALA LUMPUR – Trackster Anthony Beram blazed for glory and collected his second gold late Thursday evening by topping the 400-meter run in the 29th Southeast Asian Games here.
Beram, who also triumphed in the 200-meter dash, gave the Philippine athletic team its fifth gold after four days of competition. Prospects looked good for his team which could equal or improve its 5-7-9 (gold-silver-bronze) output in the 2015 SEA Games.
Beram’s win and the other golds from the men’s ice hockey and lawn bowls brought the Philippines medal tally to 15-18-32.
But it was the boxing team that lifted the morale and spirit of local athletes when it captured a 2-1-2 harvest.
Marvin John Nobel Tupas and Eumir Felix Marcial scored convincing victories en route to bagging the gold in their respective weight divisions.
Light heavyweight Tupas snatched the quickest victory of the day by crushing Adli Hafid Mohd Pauzi of host Malaysia via a Referee Stopped Contest (RSC) in just 21 seconds of the first round.
Middleweight Marcial, a member of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), also won a gold by demolishing Pathomsak Kuttiya of Thailand, 5-0.
Bantamweight Mario Fernandez settled for silver when he bowed to Chatchai Butdee of Thailand, 0-4.
Other boxers who won a medal include Olympian veteran Charly Suarez and Ian Clark Bautista who both settled for bronze medals in the light welterweight and flyweight divisions, respectively.
Also delivering for the Philippines’ “big day” are the women’s lawn bowls and squash teams, each capturing a silver medal. (Primo Agatep/ PNA)
