Alegarbes outduels Korean, secures Team Phl’s 2nd gold

NAGOYA, Japan — Ariel Joseph Alegarbes clinched the Philippines’ second gold medal in the 20th Asian Para Games, edging South Korea’s Sungho Kang in a thrilling men’s 100-meter backstroke S14 final on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old Filipino clocked one minute and 01.56 seconds to beat Kang by just five hundredths of a second. Kang settled for silver in 1:01.61, while Thailand’s Natirat Meeprom claimed bronze in 1:02.08.

Alegarbes’ triumph brought the Philippine swimming team’s haul to two golds and a bronze, following Ernie Gawilan’s victory in the men’s 400-meter freestyle S7 and Raemond Adefuin’s third-place finish in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke SB6 on Monday.

Adefuin marked his Asian Para Games debut with a podium finish, clocking 1:30.76 to edge China’s Wang Jingang by 0.32 seconds for the bronze.

China’s Yang Hong won gold in 1:20.23, while compatriot Guo Jincheng took silver in 1:24.92. Wang finished fourth in 1:31.08.

Adefuin also placed sixth in the men’s 200-meter individual medley SM6 in 3:08.53.

At Sky Hall Toyota, Wilfred Redulla came within a point of an assured bronze before absorbing a heartbreaking five-set defeat to Kazakhstan’s Ali Makhulbekov in the men’s singles Class 8 table tennis quarterfinals.

The 25-year-old from Mati City, Davao Oriental, bowed out, 8-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-13, 8-11, after surrendering a match point in the fourth set.

Redulla led two sets to one and held an 11-10 advantage in the fourth, putting him on the brink of a semifinal berth and a guaranteed medal. But a service error gave Makhulbekov an opening, and the Kazakh won three straight points to force a deciding set.

Errors continued to trouble Redulla as he fell behind, 1-7, in the fifth. He fought back to 8-10 before the world No. 43 secured the next point to end the Filipino’s podium bid.

“I felt that fourth set should have been ours if I hadn’t committed that service error. My opponent was simply more consistent, because that kind of mistake doesn’t usually happen to me during training,” Redulla said.

Redulla, who has cerebral palsy affecting the right side of his body, earned his national team spot after being scouted through local tournaments and the Philippine National Para Games.