Ladon loses in gold medal bout 

Qian'An, Hebei, China - Light flyweight Rogen Ladon, still ecstatic over his big win to earn a slot in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics , fell short of his mission to preserve his lofty number one position here as he narrowly lost his final bout with Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan Friday afternoon.

The scores were 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28, giving his old nemesis a split decision in the second match of the penultimate day of competitions which awarded 30 slots for the 2016 Summer Olympiad.

Ladon gamely exchanged punches with Dusmatov who also decisioned him in a similarly close final bout at the Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Bangkok last September.

The diminutive Uzbek seemed to have had the better of the exchanges.

Likewise unable to gain a win and the last Olympic ticket in the bantamweight class was Bukidnon's Mario Fernandez who was shut out by a wily Kazakh, Kairat Yeraliyev, with the three judges scoring it uniformly at 30-27.

This evening, Eumir Felix Marcial tries to salvage a third qualification spot for the Philippines as he faces Mongolia's Tuvshinbat Byamba.

The young Zamboangueno will be fighting with swollen knuckles on his dominant left hand, but gave his assurance that he can score a win for the Philippines.

ABAP executive director Ed Picson said, "Ladon and Fernandez both wanted to win badly but perhaps the fatigue factor and the emotional ups and downs here may have caught up with them. The good thing is, we still have time to work out the kinks in our armor. We'll get on it right away."

On Saturday, team captain Charly Suarez, coming off a sensational 3rd round TKO win over China's Shan Jun, takes on Otgondalai Dorjnyambuu for the gold medal in the 60 kg. lightweight category. Both fighters have already secured tickets to Rio. Head-to-head, they're 1-1. — APG, GMA News