Led by gymnastics ace Carlos Edriel Yulo, pint-sized Filipino athletes made the biggest sports headlines in the month of November.
The Pinoy pocket dynamo stood out in bagging a silver and bronze medal, respectively, in the men’s vault and parallel bars plus finishing eighth overall in the grueling all-around event in the 51st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool, England.
In boxing, Carlo Paalam captured the men’s bantamweight gold in the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan after pulling off a 4-1 split decision win over top seed Makhmud Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan in the finals
Three jiu jitsu exponents, bannered by five-year-old cutie Aleia Aielle Aguilar, also shared the spotlight in bagging golds in the World Jiu Jitsu Festival in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The daughter of wrestling chief Alvin and May Masuda, the country’s first women’s world jiu jitsu champion, became the youngest world jiu jitsu champ in topping the Kids 1 girls white belt 16-kilogram -B division.
The young Aguilar’s accomplishment was one of a trio of golds captured by the Filipina grapplers, with Meggie Ochoa and Kimberly Custodio topping the women’s 48-kg and 45-kg divisions, respectively, in the global jiu jitsu showcase.
Top female squash player Jemyca Aribado ended her elusive quest for individual glory in securing the women’s individual gold medal in the 7th Southeast Asian Cup Squash Championships in Johore, Malaysia.
After not dropping a set in the earlier rounds, Aribado went through the wringer before emerging with a thrilling 11-4, 6-11, 16-14, 9-11, 11-5 win over Malaysian No. 2 seed Whitney Isabelle Wilson in the championship match.
