Pinoys win 6 gold medals in int'l karate tilt in Italy

The Philippine karatedo team won six gold medals in the International Open CSIT Senior Karate Championships held from June 6 to 10 in Cervia, Italy, according to a June 13 dispatch of the Philippine New Agency. The gold medalists are: • Cherli Tugday, who won in the women's kumite up-to-60-kg event • May Soriano, Alam Cabasal, and Mimi Manansala who, along with Tugday, won in the women's team category • Rolando Lagman who ruled the up-to-60-kg men's event • Mike Dumayag who ruled the up-to75-kg men's event • Joey Pabillore, Erlando Metante, and Ramon Franco who — along with Lagman and Dumayag — won in the men's team event In winning the women's individual event, Tugday, a 2005 Southeast Asian Games bronze, thus solidified her bid to qualify for the 24th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to held in Thailand this year. The biennial tournament was organized by Association Italia Cultura Sports which has over 14 member countries mostly from Europe. Cabasal, Metante, Franco, and Manansala also won bronze medals in their respective weight categories in the individual men's events. According to Philippine Karatedo Federation (PKF) tournament director Joey Manansala, the team has improved compared to its performance in the same tournament in 2005, when it bagged only two gold medals, courtesy of Bernardino Chu and Junel Perana. “The results will also enhance the chances of the medal winners to qualify for the 2007 Thailand SEA Games,” Manansala said. Manansala added the Filipino karatekas will continue their training program in Naples, Italy and will compete in Sardenia next month to gain more experience and harness their skills in preparation for the Thailand SEA Games. “All these efforts are in preparation for the forthcoming SEA Games where we are hoping to improve our performance in 2005,” Manansala said. Veteran national karatekas Gretchen Malalad (60kg), Maria Marna Pabillore(53kg) and Nelson Pacalso (65kg) bagged gold medals in the 2005 Manila biennial meet. - GMANews.TV