Pagunsan ends 3rd round at joint 55th

Golfer Juvic Pagunsan failed to sustain his opening round momentum as he fired a five-over par 76 in the third round of the men’s individual stroke play event.

Pagunsan hit five bogeys, four of them coming from the back nine, to tally a two-over par 215 after 54 holes.

(READ: Juvic Pagunsan slips to joint 55th in Tokyo Olympics golf 3rd round)

Petecio gets crack at Olympic gold

Boxer Nesthy Petecio has a chance to capture another Olympic gold medal for the Philippines after edging Irma Testa of Italy in their women’s featherweight semifinals duel via split decision.

Petecio is already guaranteed of at least a silver as she advances to the gold-medal match, with her finals foe yet to be determined.

Testa took the opening round but an aggressive Petecio came out with guns blazing in the second and third rounds to earn the nod of four of the five judges, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29.

(READ: Nesthy Petecio marches to Olympic boxing gold-medal match)

Paalam closing in on Olympic medal

Boxer Carlo Paalam is a win away from adding another medal to the Philippines’ haul following a unanimous decision win over Mohamed Flissi of Algeria in their men’s flyweight round of 16 clash.

All five judges scored the bout 30-27 in favor of Paalam, who will advance to the quarterfinals and face Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan.

Paalam will be guaranteed of at least a bronze medal if he beats Zoirov and qualify for the semifinals.

(READ: Carlo Paalam secures Tokyo 2020 quarters over two-time Olympian)

Obiena through to finals

Ernest Obiena punched his ticket to the men’s pole vault finals after landing at 10th place out of the 30 competitors in the qualification, with the top 14 advancing to the medal round.

Obiena delivered when it mattered most as he cleared 5.75m – one of the only 11 pole vaulters to do so – following two failed attempts.

Those joining Obiena in the finals include world No. 1 Armand Duplantis of Sweden, 2016 Rio de Janeiro champion Thiago Braz of Brazil, and 2012 London titlist Renaud Lavillenie of France.

(READ: EJ Obiena leaps to Tokyo Olympics pole vault final)

Preview

Pole vaulter EJ Obiena is finally set to see action, while boxer Nesthy Petecio looks to inch closer to an Olympic gold as four Filipinos resume the Philippines’ Tokyo Games campaign on Saturday, July 31.

Obiena will compete in the men’s pole vault qualification at 8:40 am, needing to clear at least 5.80m or finish among the top 12 of the 30 participants to qualify for the finals.

Meanwhile, Petecio – who is already guaranteed of a bronze – seeks to beat Irma Testa of Italy in their women’s featherweight semifinal clash at 12:39 pm to advance to the gold-medal match.

Another boxer aims to reach the next round, with Carlo Paalam tangling with Mohamed Flissi of Algeria in their men’s flyweight round of 16 tussle at 10:48 am.

Kicking the day off for the Philippines is golfer Juvic Pagunsan as he seeks to improve on his current ranking in the penultimate round of the four-round men’s individual golf starting at 8:30 am.

(READ: Tokyo Olympics: Meet Team Philippines)

– Rappler.com