JR. BOWLER BARRIENTOS SHINES

BANGKOK—Junior bowler

Artegal Barrientos won the boys’ masters crown in a come-frombehind effort against Australia’s Blake Walsh, 443-349, on Wednesday night at the 21st Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships at the Blu-O Rhythm and Bowl Major Ratchayothin.

Barrientos ran third among 16 bowlers in the eliminations after hitting 3447 pins to make the stepladder medal round behind Walsh (3533) and South Korea’s Lee Myeongcheol (3452).

Barrientos ousted Myeongcheol in the single-round game semifinals, 205191, to set up the final duel with Walsh.

B arrientos, with Stephen Luke Diwa, Marc Dylan Custodio and Zach Sales Ramin, also won Tuesday’s boys’ team of four for the country its first gold medal in the competition since 1981 behind Oly Reformado, George Fernandez and Steward Uy.

The Philippines, coached by American Joe Slowinski, finished with two gold medals while South Korea was second overall with one gold, one silver and a bronze medal.

The national bowlers will also compete in the Bangkok Open on July 25. Josef Ramos definitely run faster tomorrow, and I’ll try my best to hit the Olympic standard [13.27]. Let’s see.”

Tolentino, a Robotics junior at the Tolosaldea Lanbide Heziketa Institua in Gipuzkoa, Spain, holds the national record in the 110 hurdles at 13.65.

He will run alongside Kazakhstan’s David Yefremov (13.85), China’s Ning Xiaohan (13.62), Japan’s Yokochi Taiga (13.63), China’s Zhuoyi Xu (13.57), Kuwait’s Alyouha Yaqoub (13.62) and Thailand’s Dansungnoen Natthaphon

(13.71) in the final.

“ That 13.70 is good news for us. It only shows that he’s at a good level,” national head coach Jojo Posadas said. “We are hoping he can break his record again in the final.”

The 23-member national team, according to Philippine athletics chief Terry Capistrano, is not only after podium finishes but also berths to Paris next year in the Asian championships that are an Olympic qualifying competition.

Tarlac pride Clinton Knightley Bautista, gold medalist at the Hanoi SEA Games, finished fourth in his heat at 13.99 and didn’t advance to the 110 hurdles final—no thanks to an accidental bump from South Korea’s Kim Gyeongtae after the second hurdle. Kim also didn’t progress.

Tolentino breathed life in to the Philippine campaign, which started sourly on Day 1 Wednesday when Frederick Ramirez ran a personal best 46.53 seconds in the semifinals of the men’s 400 meters but still missed the cut.

Gennah Malapit placed 13th in the women’s javelin final with a 43.57-meter effort and Arlan Arbois (33:51.06) was 14th in the men’s 10,000 meters won by Japan’s Ren Tazawa (29:18.44) also on Wednesday.

Japan’s Marina Saito struck gold in the women’s javelin (61.67m), beating China’s Shiying Liu (61.51) and Sri Lanka’s Nadeesha Lekamge (59.39). Capistrano, meanwhile, was also elected into the eight-member Asian Athletics Association Council on Tuesday. Joining Capistrano in Bangkok are Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association executive vice president Guillermo Torres, secretary-general Edward Kho, national training director Reynato Unso and team manager Jasper Tanhueco.