Olympian John Cabang Tolentino surged to a season-best time of 13.58 seconds en route to a place in the final of the men's 110-meter hurdles in the 2026 Asian Games.
Cabang Tolentino's time at the Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium was good for second place in Heat 3 and third across all heats.
For the Filipino athlete, the Aichi-Nagoya Asiad offers him a chance at redemption after he agonizingly missed the podium in Hangzhou, where he placed fourth. Moreover, the competition gives him the opportunity to reach the qualifying standard for next year's World Athletics Championships.
"It’s a good way to start, and we will see in the final," Cabang Tolentino shared, expressing his confidence ahead of the medal round. "I am excited to go. All injuries are gone, and my workouts have been good. This is also great for my progress toward the world championships."
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) Secretary-General Jasper Tanhueco praised the hurdler's current form while noting the highly unpredictable nature of the impending final.
"It’s going to be a close one. We never know who will win because in hurdles, one small mistake can change the whole race," Tanhueco explained. "I believe John can still improve his time, and it’s a good thing that he now knows he has a real chance to win."
Another Olympian, Lauren Hoffman, was not as fortunate as she missed the cut in the women's 400-m hurdles.
The 27-year-old Filipina hurdle specialist clocked 57.94 seconds to finish fourth in Heat 1, placing ninth overall among eleven competitors—missing the final by just a single spot.
The UAE's Mariam Kareem led the qualifiers with a personal best of 55.14 seconds, closely followed by Kazakhstan's Adelina Zems, who also clocked a personal best of 55.29 seconds.
"Disappointing. Missed it by one spot. The time wasn't very good, the execution wasn't very good," Hoffman acknowledged.
She revealed that a minor Achilles issue over the summer limited her competition time following the Philippine National Championships and Asian Relays.
The final would have provided Hoffman a shot at redemption following her fifth-place finish at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
Despite the setback, she remains open to a potential track return if the Philippines fields a 4x400m relay team. "If not, I'll cheer on the rest of my teammates and just cheer them on through the last part of the meet," she added.
In other results, veteran campaigner Janry Ubas qualified for the men's long jump final with a mark of 7.59-m, good for fifth place in his heat and eighth among all competitors.
Meanwhile, Jazzper Arcenal fell short of making it to the men's 400-m hurdles finals, with his time of 51.47-s a full second behind fourth place in his heat.
Nathaniel Seller, meanwhile, was disqualified in the men's race walk after four red cards: one for knee flexion and three for loss of contact.