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VIGAN—Bulacan
and Ilocos Norte shot up the medal tally board courtesy
of their gymnasts in the Central and North Luzon
qualifiers of the Philippine Olympic Festival Monday
night in the Vigan Youth Gym.
Pangasinan, the overnight leader, fell into a tie with
Ilocos Norte for second place with nine gold medals in
the overall tally. Pangasinan’s track and field team
raked three more mints Tuesday and hiked its total to
nine golds to remain within striking distance of
Bulacan’s 10 gold count.
Overall,
Ilocos Norte has 26 medals with a gold-silver-bronze
tally of 9-9-8. Bulacan (10-7-5) follows with 22.
Pangasinan (9-3-4) and Baguio (3-5-8) each have 16,
while Cagayan (2-5-8) has 15.
Mary
Rose Mendoza, 12, and Rev Lictana, 17, inhaled seven
gold medals between them that accounted for a chunk of
Bulacan’s mint harvest in gymnastics.
The
diminutive Mendoza, an incoming high-school freshman who
became the first four-gold winner here, dominated
category-one (under 12 years old) competition in ribbon,
hoop, rope and individual all-around events in girls’
rhythmic gymnastics. She also added a silver in the ball
event won by Shaira Collado, Cagayan’s lone gold in the
sport.
Lictana,
the reigning artistic all-around champion in the
13-and-over division in the Palarong Pambansa, won the
men’s horse vault, floor exercise and individual all
around in boys’ artistic gymnastics.
Dariano’s
teammate
Marcos de los Santos makes a winning heave in
the shot put for one of Pangasinan’s three gold medals
for the day.
--Roy
Domingo
High-school freshmen Regilyn Surio (clubs) and Ronelyn
Borja (balance beam), both 13 years old, and 11-year-old
sixth-grader Nikki Ann Bertulfo (balance beam) completed
the Bulacan haul in the one-day gymnastics tournament.
“I want
to gradually improve their skills,” Bulacan coach Roel
Flores said when he was asked what his plans for the
team were. “Getting them into big tournaments is not
advisable, especially for the younger members of the
team.”
“We want
them to be exposed to smaller tournaments. Only when we
feel they’re ripe for the next stage will we send them
there,” he added.
Ilocos
Norte, considered north as the
Luzon powerhouse in gymnastics, saw three of its gymnasts account
for seven of its nine mints. For being the lone
participant in his events, Albert Agaban, a 12-year-old
sixth grader, automatically netted three golds in floor
exercise, horse vault and individual all around.
Twelve-year-old Xariah Gelanie Gapuzan (under-12 floor
exercise and individual all-around), and 15-year-old
high-school junior Flora Mae Acoba (over-13 hoop and
individual all-around) each accounted for two gold
medals.
Thirteen-over athletes Lyka Gazmeña, a high-school
junior, (ribbon) and Princess Debrey Reyes, a
high-school freshman, (rope) round up Ilocos Norte’s
mint collection.
La
Union’s Dawn Irad Millares picked up three gold medals.
The high-school sophomore won the category-two gold
medals in horse vault, floor exercise and individual all
around).
Jiamarie
Kawachi, who won the category-one division in horse
vault, gave Pangasinan’s lone gold medal in gymnastics.
In
athletics, Pangasinan copped three more gold medals.
Barefoot runner Lany Cardona secured her gold for
winning the 5,000 m. Provincemates Marcos de los Santos
(shot put) and Reynald Calicpan (long jump) won their
mints in the boys’ division.
Baguio City,
the team that was supposed to threaten Pangasinan in
track and field, took only its third gold medal after
Stephanie Lictag won the girls’ javelin throw.
Angeles City’s
first track gold was courtesy of Janson Lacanlale in the
boys’ 100 m.
In
basketball, Cagayan booked a seat in the finals after it
defeated host Ilocos Sur, 72-41, at the
University
of Northern Philippines Gym. Cagayan faces Bulacan in
the championship round where Bulacan is a heavy
favorite.
In table
tennis,
Angeles City
chalked up two wins. The Pampanga-based players scored a
3-1 victory over Ilocos Sur in the girls’ division, then
their boys’ team repeated over the hosts in a 3-0
decision at the JTC Mall.
In other
girls’ games, Nueva Ecija beat Baguio, 3-1, while
Pangasinan won via default over Benguet.
Muay
Thai events begin Thursday at the Plaza Burgos, while
archery competition unfurls in barangay Tamag. |
