Negrense John Baylon settled for a bronze medal in the men's -81 kg. competitions of the 15th Vietnam International judo tournament that closed curtains Sunday at the Army Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City.

Baylon, who hails from Binalbagan, bowed against Korean Huh Chae Goo in his first match, before posting submission victories over his next three Vietnamese opponents to take the bronze.

Even at the age of 41, the Binalbagan-born athlete is still considered as one of the Philippines' best judokas after grabbing his seventh straight gold in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games last year.

Baylon was one of four Filipinos, who brought home medals in the tournament that was competed in by 11 countries. The 8-man Philippine squad got its best result from SEA Games gold medal winner Gilbert Ramirez, who placed first runner-up in the men's -73 kg. competitions.

After cruising through his first batch of rivals to reach the finals, the 21-year-old Ramirez absorbed a setback against Takuma Sakamoto of Japan in the gold-medal bout to end up in second place. Also winning bronzes for the RP team were Estie Gay Linawen and Filipino-Japanese Tomohiko Hoshina. *CIT

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