Junmilardo Ogayre also crashed out in the quarterfinals, leaving Mark Ashley Fajardo as the sole victor among the country’s three boxers in action on December 11 at SEA Games Thailand 2025.
While Olympian Hergie Bacyadan and Junmilardo Ogayre suffered tough losses to Thailand, Mark Ashley Fajardo emerged as the lone Filipino victor in boxing at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games on Friday, December 12.
Fajardo advanced to the semifinals of the men’s -69kg event to the semifinals after his opponent, Indonesia’s Jerki Riwu, was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury, resulting in a referee stoppage victory.
He now faces hometown bet Bunjong Sinsiri for a spot in the gold-medal round.
"Hindi ko ine-expect na marami kami kaya need ko pa dumaan ng prelims. Focus lang ako sa next na kalaban which is Thailand and alam naman natin na may homecourt sila," Fajardo said in an interview with Cignal.
Earlier, Bacyadan fell just short in the women’s -70kg semifinal, losing a narrow split decision to Thailand’s Baison Manikon and settling for bronze.
The Filipina struggled early but rallied with a sharp three-punch combination in the final moments of the opening round.
Manikon answered with a furious flurry in the second, and despite both fighters trading heavy shots in a tense final round, the scorecards favored Manikon, setting her up for a gold-medal clash against Vietnam’s Hoàng Ngic Mai.
Admitting the lack of preparation, Bacyadan said she and her team had little time to train.
“Hindi talaga ako prepared [for the tournament]. Hinatak ko lang talaga si Coach Nietes na i-train ako kahit short period. Nira-rush namin na i-build ulit ‘yung stamina ko,” she said.
Ogayre, meanwhile, suffered a unanimous decision loss to Thailand’s Sakda Ruamtham in the men’s -60kg quarterfinals.
Looking ahead, two-time Olympic medalist Nesthy Petecio will vie for a gold-medal spot in the women’s -63kg division against Uswatun Hasanah of Indonesia, while Jara Flint aims for a semifinal berth in the men’s -54kg event versus Flanuari Yerikho Daud, also of Indonesia.
(With reports from Bea Gadiano/Cignal)
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Pao Ambat earned his journalism degree from Cavite State University in 2022.
Passionate about sports from a young age, he primarily covers the NBA for One Sports, while also assisting in reporting on the PVL, PBA, UAAP, and other leagues.