Yulo expects Cruz, Besana triumphs

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Carlos Yulo wasn't surprised seeing teammates John Ivan Cruz and Juancho Miguel Besana reap glory in the gymnastics competition of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.

He said he knew his young teammates would eventually shine knowing how hard they are working in training and actual competitions while keeping a positive outlook in their respective campaigns.

Cruz — Yulo's second cousin — ruled the floor exercise event while Besana reigned supreme in vault apparatus to power the Filipinos to an impressive haul of four gold and two silver medals.

Yulo, for his part, finished with two gold medals in men's individual all-around and parallel bars apparatus while clinching the silver medals in men's team all-around and still rings apparatus.

He said the success of his teammates didn't surprise him at all.

"It can be seen in practice. I was never surprised that they did. I was nervous but after that, I was happy," said Yulo, who was forced to see action in only four events after organizers ruled that he will be competing in just two apparatus.

"I have no problem with the limited number of events here because I was focused on the individual and team all-around events."

With the SEA Games finally over, the 23-year-old Yulo is now setting his sights on the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships from 10 to 18 June in Singapore, where Cruz and Besana are also scheduled to compete.

The 21-year-old Cruz said winning the SEA Games gold is his ticket to get his family out of poverty.

"He (Yulo) told me not to focus on winning the medal, but on delivering my best performance," said Cruz, who stands to receive a cash incentive of P450,000 from the government for his golden triumph as well as additional bonus from their private sponsors and, if he gets lucky, from President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

"We have problems financially. With this win, I can say that I can now help them."

The 19-year-old Besana said winning the gold medal was just an icing on the cake as he was already satisfied with the silver medal that he won from team event together with Yulo, Cruz, Jan Timbang and Jhon Santillan.

"I'm happy with the gold medal but I'm already satisfied with our silver medal in the team all-around. The gold was just the bonus," Besana, a finalist in the first leg of the FIG World Cup in Cottbus, Germany last March, said.

"By the next SEA Games, we'll be a lot better and we will aim for the gold medal."