The Music Hall at the Mall of Asia was packed with more than 200 national competitors during the October 26–28, 2022, National Open Kickboxing Championships.
Six athletes Arvin Sabado, Eushika Grail Gullayan, Alester Tagure, Jhon Rey Mendoza, Keanu Osingat, and Shaggy Ngayaan were sent to the competition for the first time by Tabuk City fight teams Tribu Banwar and Team Say-ang.
Both teams expressed their gratitude to the city government, through Mayor Darwin C. Estrañero, for its ongoing support ever since the regional competitions.
The men’s 63.5kg Full Contact division bout between Arvin Sabado and Danny Kingad, a former challenger for the ONE Championship title belt, stands out among the teams’ efforts. Despite losing to Kingad in the semifinals by a score of 3-0, Sabado was awarded the bronze medal.
In the women’s full contact-56kg division, Eushika Grail Gullayan settled for a silver medal after losing to SEA Games medalist Gretel de Paz.
Other two kickboxers, Alester Tagure and Jhon Rey Mendoza, survived the elimination round but did not make it through the quarterfinals.
The fighting teams from Tabuk City won one silver and one bronze overall.
The national team’s Jean Claude Saclag, Jomar Balangui, and Kurt Lubrica, winners of their respective divisions, dominated the finals.
The tournament was hosted by the Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas, the country’s official kickboxing governing body, a regular member of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), and a recognized organization by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). By Eisenhower C. Bucalen