Cebu taekwondo stars (from left) Aidane Laxa, Rinna Babanto, and McAvengyr Alob with PTA-7 Chairman Tony del Prado (third from left). Contributed photo | Tony del Prado
Pasay City—Taekwondo stars from Cebu won medals for the Philippine Team in the 14th ASEAN Championships, which ended Sunday, May 5, 2019, at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
The Cebuanos once again got the bulk of their medals in the poomsae (forms) competition.
Leading the Cebuano charge were De La Salle University’s Rinna Babanto and McAvengyr Alob.
The 21-year-old Babanto won two bronze medals in the senior individual and team poomsae event, respectively, in the first major international competition in 2019 for the Philippine Taekwondo squad as they gear up for the Southeast Asian Games later this year.
S.T.A.R Taekwondo Gym’s Aidane Laxa also delivered two bronzes each for the Philippine Team in the junior individual competition and team event.
Alob snared a bronze in the team event of the individual poomsae category.
The ASEAN Championships is sanctioned by the Asean Taekwondo Federation and is also participated by some rival Asean countries like Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Timor Leste.
Meanwhile, in kyurogi (sparring) competition, Xanadu Gym’s Rodito Sinugbojan managed a silver medal finish after a falling short against Vietnam’s Khoa le Tuan Nguyen in the finals of the cadet boys -37kgs. flyweight class. /bmjo