Guam might do better next time

TIANJIN, China -- And just like that, the 6th East Asian Games are nothing but memory.

The last East Asian Games to feature adult athletes will go down in Guam's history as one the participants could take many experiences from, though few of them would be triumphant.

Guam walked away from these games with just one medal, last place of the nine countries and regions that sent 3,000 athletes to compete in 26 sports. Host China was the big winner, though every other country found success as well: Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Japan, Hong Kong, North and South Korea, Mongolia and Macau.

Guam's lone medal came in taekwondo, the same as it did during the 5th EAG in Hong Kong.

But while the 2009 bronze was guaranteed as soon as the draw was final, Alexander Allen's silver medal this time around was by no means a sure thing.

The 18-year-old from Mangilao, fighting in the 68-74-kilogram division, won the crowd's heart as he first took on Macau's Soi Chun Wong and prevailed 8-4.

Spectators continued to cheer him on in a close match against Hong Kong's Ho Yin Tsoi, which Allen won with an axe kick and a chance to compete for gold. But Korea's Hyeokjin Kwon arrived at the medal mat alone, and the crowd let out a collective moan it then learned Allen withdrew because of an injury.

He sprained his ankle, Allen said after he received his silver medal, adding that he did not want to risk embarrassment or exacerbating his injury. Other taekwondo players Terrence Lapitan and Joseph Ho lost their opening bouts.
Minor successes

There were minor successes, but no other medals for Guam as the island's 100-plus athletes in nine sports faced some of the giants of Asia.

In bowling, Guam could only muster a middle-of-the-pack finish, a fifth place in team competition, despite some major successes in prior Asian competition.

Guam's Keith Guerrero placed in the top quarter of about 40 bowlers -- the only one of five from Guam -- and finished in 11th overall to qualify for the top 16 master's tournament. He couldn't find his groove, though, and finished last of the best.

Guam's baseball team got to finish the seven-team tournament with a couple of wins over Hong Kong and Mongolia, but was blanked by Chinese Taipei, Korea and Japan.

Still, Guam's 2-3 record was good enough to give it a shot to enter the playoffs, and its match-up against host China was exciting early on -- but Guam offered too little, too late and the host wound up stretching the lead to the mercy limits by the sixth inning.

The Guam men's basketball team ended its Games on a victorious note, a stellar 82-70 win over Hong Kong. Guam got blown out by Korea 122-54 right before that -- though it fared better against Chinese Taipei (83-59) and Mongolia (83-71) to open the tournament.

Guam's female hoopsters weren't as close. They opened the tournament with a 108-26 loss to Japan, and did much better in a 69-42 loss to Hong Kong in their next game.

But the next two games were a mirror of the first. They lost to China 108-33, and ended their tournament with a 111-32 loss to Chinese Taipei.

Though Guam had little chance against the other giants from Asia, it was a crowd favorite and earned cheers from the audience after every point.

Guam's women's volleyball players fared no better than their basketball counterparts.

Guam opened with a 25-6, 25-5, 25-5 loss to Japan, and also lost to Hong Kong, though it managed to score 11 points in the opening set of a straight-set loss.

The Guam women ended their games experience with a straight-set loss to eventual fifth-place winner Chinese Taipei, scoring 9, 1 and 18 points, respectively, in the loss.

Guam played without dominant hitter and blocker Mary Gillan, who injured her knee in the opener and brought crutches to the next two matches.

Other sports shared similar stories: Guam's shooting team finished at or near the bottom in both men's and women's action; Guam's judoka were eliminated in their opening and repechage matches, and in cycling, Peter Lombard was pulled off the route with four others with just 3 miles to go in his event.

In dragon-boat action, the Guam teams got to paddle in the sport's latest boats and vastly improved their times from local competitions, but did not advance in the 500- or 200-meter small boat in the women's category, nor the small or large boat in either distance in the men's category.
New format

This year marks the last time that adults will compete at the East Asian Games, said officials from the Guam National Olympic Committee. Come 2017, the games will be strictly for under-18 athletes.

This change would give Guam's juniors a better chance than their adult counterparts, as many East Asian Games adult competitors are high-level university or professional athletes.

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