The Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (PEKAF) held its Battle of Champions last July 7 and 8 in Le Pavillion Pasay City.

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More than 140 champion athletes of arnis and eskrima nationwide battled it out in the two-day tournament.

“Each arnisador competing here is a champion. All have fought off competitor arnisadores in their regions to get through to this stage,” said Senator Juan Miguel Zuburi, the main patron of the event during the opening ceremony last July 7.

 

The event served as part of the qualification tournament to determine the pool of players who will compete and be the country’s representatives in the sport in the upcoming 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the short term.

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Dionisio Cañete, founder of World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF) stated that the tournament platform also the basis for determining representatives for bigger events in Arnis and Kali, particularly in the Asian championship which will also be hosted by the Philippines in January 2019.

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Indirectly, the Battle of Champions could also determine the talent pool for the Philippines’ contingent in the coming WEKAF international tournament which will be hosted in Hawaii next year which will happen on July 17-19, 2019.

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“We are aiming to harvest the most medals in a sport that is truly ours,” added Senator Zubiri.