Three more Filipino fighters will march to the finals.
Nesthy Petecio was reduced to a cheerleader when her brother Norlan locked horns with Singapore’s Jun Jie Velvan Tan in the semifinals of boxing’s 67kg division in the Southeast Asian Games on Wednesday at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center in Phnom Penh.
Her shouts didn’t go for naught.
After Norlan was announced the winner via split decision, the emotional Olympic silver medalist went straight to his brother to give him a hug.
Hours later, it was Nesthy who would advance to the gold medal match after beating hometown bet Vy Sreysros via unanimous decision in the 57kg semifinal.
The Petecio siblings are looking to add two more gold medals to the Philippines' medal haul in the regional meet in Cambodia.
But they weren’t the only Filipinos who punched a ticket to the finals on Wednesday.
Also gunning for a gold medal will be John Marvin, Ian Clark Bautista, and Rogen Ladon after winning their respective semifinal bouts in contrasting fashion.
Ladon will now have a chance to nab his third straight gold after punching his way to the final of the 51kg division with a split decision win over Malaysia’s Muhammad Abdul Qaiyum Arrifin.
Bautista turned heads in the 57kg class semifinal after beating Myanmar’s Naing Latt via unanimous decision.
Meanwhile, Marvin is also moving on to the final of the 80kg category after a unanimous decision win over Cambodia’s Nasredinov Anvar.
All five judges ruled in his favor, with four scoring the match 30-27, and one a close 29-27.
On Tuesday, Irish Magno and Riza Pasuit also marched to the gold-medal match of the 54kg and 63kg classes, respectively.
(With reports from Carlo Pamintuan, One Sports; Jaime Ascalon, One Sports)
(MDB)