Jiu jitsu athletes from Baguio City and Benguet amassed 20 gold, nine silver, and nine bronze medals in the Dumau International Open Jiu Jitsu and No-Gi Championship 2022 held in Manila on Aug. 20 and 21.
Athletes from Ronin Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in La Trinidad, Benguet under coach Morrizon Jose clinched the most medals with 10 gold, five silver, and eight bronze medals with Geeno Abalos III leading the medalists with three golds and a bronze.
Abalos used a guard game strategy and several guard-based techniques to fight his way up to the medal rounds.
Arvin Jose also won three gold me-dals that earned him the right to receive a podium promotion from white to blue belt by Professor Manny Jimenez of Checkmat Manila.
Marshal Caw-is’ top game created immense pressure for his opponents, keeping them on their backs and limiting certain movements, as he bounced back from a shoulder injury in last month’s Pan Asian Games en route to two gold and one bronze medal win.
The other two gold medalists from the team were Paul Sherwood Basongit plus one silver and Jezebelle Padtoc plus one bronze.
The silver medalists from the team were Daryl Pilyong and Hector Badis with one each; and Dahn Anthony Peliño with two.
The bronze medalists were led by Carl Joshua Lalwet with two and Ashley Rose Diong-an, Keith Diong-an, and Nicko Jame Donglasan with one each.
Athletes from Mat Zone Jiu Jitsu under Guillermo Geronimo won eight gold, four silver, and one bronze medals with Aithana Caranto leading the team with three gold and one silver.
Caranto finished most of her matches with submission finishes, having executed three Americana submissions, an armbar, and a rear-naked choke.
Wilbert Pinkihan clinched two golds and a silver, executing a buggy choke set up into an arm bar finish in a match against Moroccan player Kassour Ayoub, who broke his elbow during the submission.
Aira Jade Albon added two more gold medals for the team, as she finished her final match with a triangle armbar submission.
Faisal Abdulkadir added a gold medal while Dhenard Caoile won one silver for the team.
Siblings Chad and Jan Ransen Mayos from Baguio BJJ under Prof. Gibran Langbayan won one gold medal apiece, as the two athletes’ nimble styles gave them strategic advantages over their respective opponents. The siblings also train under Team Lakay. – Harley F. Palangchao
