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PH gets BMX gold, another taekwondo bronze in Day 12

Thanks to BMX rider Daniel Patrick Caluag, Team Philippines finally nailed that elusive gold medal in the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

Under the radar heading into the competitions as he finished his Nursing course in the U.S., Caluag, 27, made heads turn when he topped the morning heat run and sustained his strong showing in the finals, courtesy of three impressive clockings—35.277 in moto 1, 35.366 in moto 2 where he nipped Japan’s Masahiro Sampei in a photo finish and 35.431 in moto 3.

“We came here focused and we conquered,” Caluag beamed as he finally delivered the country's first gold medal, topping the pair of silvers and five bronzes achieved by wushu, archery, and taekwondo bets. “This is for our country. This is for the Filipino people.”

A proud Fil-American whose father hails from Bataan and his mother traces her roots in Bulacan, Caluag made a name for himself when he topped the 2013 Asian Championships before shifting his focus on finishing his studies and eventually making himself a Registered Nurse.

But that doesn’t mean Caluag was out of the loop at all. “I remained focus on my task for these Games by racing with the world’s best in the U.S. BMX in the U.S. is so high level that on a given weekend, you get the best training, preparation, and competition possible,” he noted.

Nearly missing out on giving the PH another medal was Caluag’s younger brother, Christopher John, who finished third after the first two motos but landed fifth in the third to finish fourth overall behind Sampei and China’s Zhu Yan.

Caluag’s gold-medal winning exploits was the Philippines’ first in cycling since the 1951 Asian Games.

Former Tour champion Victor Espiritu bagged the country’s last Asian Games medal in cycling when he finished third in the men’s road race in the 1988 Bangkok edition.

While the the prospects of winning a gold medal looked dimmer each day, Caluag made winning look so easy. His team, including coach Greg Romero, arrived here Sunday. They didn’t get to see the track on Monday because of bad weather and were only able to see the venue on Tuesday.

There weren’t any long rides during inspection. They only took notes, checked on the humps and turns. Tuesday night was time to strategize. “We decided that I start from the outside lane to make it easier for me to maneuver into the lead. Luckily our strategy paid off and I was also fortunate not to crash,” he said.

BMX has officially become an Olympic event during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Hongkong’s Steven Wong won the inaugural Asian Games gold in Guangzhou four years ago.

The country’s fifth bronze medal came from taekwondo jin Mary Anjelay Pelaez, who defeated Nway Nway of Myanmar 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the women’s -46kg before she bowed to Kim Sohui of Korea, 14-2, in the semifinals.

“Daniel’s gold medal came at a time when we were in bad need of a booster in our campaign. Our team is trying to give a final but strong kick in the last two or three days. Our boxers will also go for the gold medal fights today,” said Chief of Mission and Philippine Sports Commission chairman Ritchie Garcia.

“On a personal note, Daniel’s gold is also a nice birthday gift for me,” added Garcia, who turned 69. “Sayang nga lang at hindi nakuha ng brother nya (Christopher John Caluag) yung bronze medal. Nakadalawa sana tayo sa BMX.”

Gilas Pilipinas finally stopped its slide with an 84-68 win over Mongolia and secured seventh placed finish, the country’s worst showing in the men’s basketball overall.

While the Blu Girls kissed their title hopes goodbye with a 0-3 defeat against China, the PH Volcanoes momentarily boosted their chances with a 59-0 blanking of Pakistan but still went got eliminated after a 0-21 thumping from Hong Kong.

In athletics, Eric Shauwn Cray clocked in 51.47 seconds, good for just sixth place in the men’s 400m hurdles.

In wrestling, Jason Balabal defeated Palestine’s Ibrahim Hanini of Palestine 4-0 in the 1/8 final of the men’s Greco-Roman 85kg but was eliminated by  Azat Beishebehov of Kyrgystan in the quarterfinals behind a 4-0 decision.

The PH side is hoping the men’s boxing team could prop up the medal haul on Thursday, with four boxers eyeing to make it to the gold medal round.

Charly Suarez takes on Alkasbeh Obada Mohammad of Jordan in the men’s lightweight semifinals, with the winner advancing to the gold medal match against the winner of the other semis pairing between Otgondalai Dorjnyambuu of Mongolia and Satoshi Shimbu of Japan.

Mario Fernandez clashes with Jiawei Zhang of China in the semifinals of the men’s bantamweight division, with the winner going up against the winner between Kairat Yeraliyev of Kazakhstan and Ham Sangmyeong of Korea.

Wilfredo Lopez collides with Odai Riyad Aldel Alhindawi of Jordan in their men’s middleweight semis, with the winner battling the survivor between Krishan Vikas of India and Zhanibek Alimkhanuly of Kazakhstan.

London Olympian Mark Barriga battle hometown bet Shin Jonghun in their men’s lightflyweight semis battle, hoping he could advance to the finals against the winner between Birzhan Zhakypov of Kazakhstan and Turat Osmonov of Kyrgystan.