Borges Takes Double Golds, Dream Art Still On Top | IBJJF Pans Day 3 Recap
Borges Takes Double Golds, Dream Art Still On Top | IBJJF Pans Day 3 Recap
Borges secured two of the four medals that went to Dream Art on the last day of colored belts at IBJJF Pans. Nata Tenca landed six consecutive ankle locks.
Dream Art athletes shone once more on Day 3 of the 2023 IBJJF Pan Championships on Friday, March 24. The male purple belts were the center of attention today, as they were the only adult division athletes to take the mats.
It was the Rafael Borges show. The Dream Art athlete submitted his first three opponents in the division. He won the middleweight semifinal on points before putting his final opponent to sleep. He earned four points victories in the open class to secure double gold, including wins over heavyweight champ Natã Tenca and super heavyweight champ Guilherme Avelino.
Borges was not the only standout Dream Art athlete on the day. Kleber Alves won the roosteweight division, while lightweights Miguel Campos and João Barros closed out their division. They contributed heavily to their team’s 42 point haul on the day, expanding Dream Art’s substantial lead in the teams race at the end of colored belt competition.
Dream Art remains in first place for the third consecutive day with 101 points, 37 points ahead of Atos.
Earlier in the week, Dream Art built a similar lead in the female team race, earning 74 points to put them in first place in front of GF Team with 43.
Two Atos stars stood in the spotlight today. Natã Tenca scored six consecutive ankle lock victories. With the first three, he won the heavyweight division. He hit two more in the absolute, including a 10-second submission over the ultra heavyweight champ, before falling to Borges in the final. Tenca also won the European title earlier this year, meaning he is on track to achieve a Grand Slam at purple belt.
Takeshiro Tanino, the medium heavyweight champion from Atos, submitted two of his four opponents to win the division. In the final, he defeated Danylo Wruck. It was an important redemption victory, as Wruck defeated Tanino in the medium heavyweight semifinal at Euros in January.
See the full results from Friday, and each of the other colored belt days here.
The black belts take the mats on Saturday, March 25, beginning with the absolute division. The bracket for that division just dropped. See them here.
Later on Saturday, the black belt weight categories will begin for those athletes who must qualify to compete in the final day. The men’s divisions will be whittled down to the final eight, while the women’s divisions will be narrowed down to the final two. Tune in on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. ET to catch all of the black belt action.