YOG: RP cagers nail 1st win, but tankers crash out

The Philippines’ 3-on-3 basketball team finally pulled off its first win after crashing out of the quarterfinals with three straight losses, but tankers Jessie Lacuna and Jasmine Alkhaldi failed to make a big splash in the pool in Day 5 of the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Fil-Am Bobby Ray Parks, Jr., Jeron Teng, Cris Michael Tolomia and Michael Pate overpowered South Africa’s Nkosinathi Festile, Justin Paton, Duke Lazarus and Siyabonga Mahlinza, 26-12, to nail the squad’s first win in four matches. But the Pinoy swimmers, expected to provide the country a medal in the inaugural staging of this event, faltered. Lacuna competed in the fourth of the seven-heat, 100-meter freestyle race, but could only finish 19th overall with a time of 52.10 seconds. The Filipino tanker missed the semifinals. Alkhaldi performed better, but was only good for 17th place in the 50-meter free by clocking 27.10 ticks, one rung short of making the semis cut. “Jessie (Lacuna) and Jasmine (Alkhaldi) will not progress to the semifinals," said RP chief de mission Mark Joseph. “But Jasmine finished 17th and will be a reserve swimmer for tonight’s (last night’s) semis," he added. Although it was a non-bearing match, the Filipinos somehow salvaged some measure of pride as they hammered the South Africans to experience the thrill of winning after suffering heartbreaking losses at the hands of US Virgin Islands, Spain and Croatia. The Filipinos lost to the dribblers from US Virgin Islands, 28-34, then to the Spanish, 25-27, and later the Croatians, 19-22, in a game the RP cagers could have won. The stinging defeats left Lacuna with the lone responsibility of carrying the last fight for the Filipinos as he competes in his—as well as RP’s—final event, the 200-meter fly. The pair of setbacks at the pool and the early elimination of the Mon Jose-coached cage squad, taekwondo jin Kirk Barbosa, netter Jeson Patrombon and weightlifter Patricia Llena left the RP contingent here with nothing but a prayer that at least the YOG experience would start something big for the RP youth athletes. - RCJ, GMANews.TV