Dexler Balambao (left most) and Oswen Kenret Bautista (right most) with other Philippine Team members.
Contributed photo
Two Cebuano arnisadors helped the Philippine team shine in the Fuquan International Martial Arts Festival and Congress last Sept. 15 to 19 at the Fuquan Cultural Sports Center in Guizhou City, China.
Dexler Bolambao and Oswen Kenret Bautista, both from the Cebu Technological University (CTU), bagged gold medals for the Philippine squad that topped eight other countries to come home as Best Performers in the demonstration competition.
Other countries who participated were Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Thailand, and host China.
Bolambao and Bautista led the cast of winners for the Philippines in the World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (Wekaf) World Championships last year in Cebu before joining the international meet for the first time.
“It’s a big pleasure for our team because of all the other martial arts, it was ours that stood out the most in the competition,” coach Cesario Perez said.
Perez also said that it was their performance that got the most positive reactions from all the competitors.
The team was supported by Wekaf Philippines President Michael Cañete and Vice President Gerald Cañete.