JAKE Yamagishi emerged as the top grappler in the 141-150-pound featherweight division in the Trench Tech Mats on Fire Brazilian jiu jitsu tournament at the Garapan Round House on Saturday, Sept. 28.
In the gold medal match, Yamagishi faced talented young grappler Matthew Salas.
In the initial moments of their exchange, Yamagishi held Salas in full guard and threatened to sweep, but Salas turned the tide against his opponent to scramble into the north-south position.
Yamagishi fought his way back to full guard and attempted an armbar, but was denied.
Salas sought to muscle his way to half-guard, leaving his hands on the mat long enough for Yamagishi to attack.
Salas had to think quick and defend, but Yamagishi made the most of Salas’s ensuing scramble, and was able to get the tap by locking in a triangle.
For his part, Javin Okawa won the bronze medal in the same division by defeating Jimmy Polk with a guillotine.
In the bantamweight division, Coby Reyes and Edward Diaz squared off for the gold medal.
Early in the round, Diaz shot in for a double leg takedown, but fell right into a guillotine attack by Reyes.
The pair would roll too close to the mat’s edge resulting in a reset in the middle of the mat.
Diaz, back in full guard, managed to get to side control but Reyes scrambled hard to prevent Diaz from getting more points.
Diaz went knee-to-belly and began working for an armbar, but Reyes fended him off.
Later in the match, Diaz regained side control and eventually the mount. Reyes hip bumped Diaz off. At this time, Reyes was showing signs of fatigue, even as he was in Diaz’s full guard.
Diaz used an active attack to pursue and then secure a triangle, taking home the gold medal with 1:01 left on the clock.
Seth Sablan was the bronze medalist.
Among the welterweights, Enoch Pamintuan and Christopher Dela Cruz went at it in the gold medal round.
They started by hand fighting and searching for dominant underhooks in the clinch.
Pamintuan was the fresher man, and while in the clinch, placed his weight on Dela Cruz and shucked him onto the mat. Once there, Pamintuan looked for a chance to attack the back, but had to settle for a full mount.
Dela Cruz, although tired, dug deep to fight back, and reclaimed full guard when Pamintuan tried to attack his arm.
But from that point on, Pamintuan was more dominant and took a 9-0 lead to win the medal.
Ernesto Licop was the bronze medalist in the welterweight division.
Elsewhere in the adult divisions, Drey Aldan was the super atom gold medalist while BengBeng “The DengDeng” Palacios won gold among the flyweights, besting James Choi, who settled for the silver medal.
For the kids divisions the results were as follows:
Peewee 1
1st place — Uriah Sablan
2nd place — Uma Naputi
3rd place — Neil Quitugua
Peewee 2
1st place — Ayani Rios
2nd place — Eleanor Anderson
3rd place — Ameilia Zevallos
Kids 1
1st place — Kaiya Pangelinan
2nd place — Ryusei Asai
3rd place — Deon Greenman
Kids 2
1st place — Jordan Camacho
2nd place — Dylan Greenman
3rd place — Joseph Cruz
Kids Absolute
1st place — Trey Manglona
2nd place — Matua Puguon
3rd place — Alexander Diaz
The bantamweight medalists: 1st place Edward Diaz; 2nd place Colby Reyes; 3rd place Seth Sablan.
Featherweights 1st place Jake Yamagishi; 2nd place Mathew Salas; 3rd place Javin Okawa.
Javin Okawa wins the bronze with a guillotine.
Kaiya Pangelinan locks in the armbar to secure the gold medal.
Kaiya Pangelinan locks in the armbar to secure the gold medal.
Trey Manglona sinks in an armbar.
Jake Yamagishi, in white, fights off Mathew Salas.
In a preliminary bout against Javin Okawa, Jake Yamagishi attacks the arm.
