Host team downs Indonesia

Host team downs Indonesia

ANN The Philippine Inquirer/Manila

The Philippines relied on brothers Ali, Frazier and Norton Alamara to down Indonesia 15-10 on Monday and draw first blood in the water polo competition of the 23rd Southeast Asian Games at the Trace Aquatics Center in Los Banos, south of Manila.

Named after boxing's legendary American heavyweight champions, the trio combined for five goals, most of them in the final period, to secure the Filipinos' first win in the round-robin eliminations.

Thailand, the 2003 SEAG silver medalist, beat Vietnam, 7-5, in the second game.

Monsuito Pelenio was the top scorer with four goals, all of them in the first quarter, for the Filipinos, who are hoping to finally win their first ever gold in the sport.

"The team maintained a high level of aggressiveness and showed a lot of heart," said Philippine Amateur Swimming Association president Mark Joseph. "This (win) will inspire them when they go up against Singapore tomorrow."

The Singaporeans, the reigning SEAG champions who beat the Filipinos by one goal during the 2003 Vietnam SEAG semifinals, boast a Russian coach and solid foreign exposure.

With a 9-8 lead at the start of the fourth period, Norton Alamara came through with back-to-back goals while Ali Alamara added another in the last four minutes as the nationals padded their margin to 12-8, which the Indonesians failed to overhaul.

Almax Laurel also knocked in three goals to make things hard for the Indonesian team, which finished fourth in the Southeast Asian Games in 2003.

Although the Indonesians managed to score two goals after that courtesy of Henrian Saragih and Hendri Maciano, it was clear from there that the locals had the game wrapped up with heads up play in the stretch.

Frazier and Norton Alamara finished with two goals each, while Ali, Danny Dela Torre, Sherwin Dela Paz and Dale Evangelista scored one each.

The Philippines got off to a hot start when Pelenio fired home two goals. But the Indonesians quickly fought back through Lucky Damapoli and Heriansyah Saragih to tie the count, 2-2, at the 2:34 mark of the opening quarter.