DAVAO DEL NORTE—Sixteen-year-old John Christian Capasao competed not only through injury but a most horrifying memory of his policeman father being ambushed to death to become the first gold-medal winner of the 2015 Palarong Pambansa.
Davao del Norte’s hosting of the 58th edition of the annual multisport games for student-athletes kicked off with a gloom on a hot and sunny Sunday morning at the sprawling Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex, only to be cooled by localized thunderstorm for the third straight day just before the outdoor competitions resumed at 3 p.m.
Capasao also proved successful in shifting from baseball to javelin and only recently to discus throw—he tore a tendon near his right elbow last December—in kicking off Western Visayas’s strong bid to regain the overall crown from defending champion National Capital Region (NCR).
“I had to shift to discus throw because to continue with javelin means aggravating my injury,” said Capasao, pride of the Iloilo National High School and the youngest of two children to widowed call-center agent Marisol, in Tagalog.
Capasao heaved the disc to 40.60 meters, eno ugh to win the mint over NCR’s John Endric Manalang (38.77) and Calabarzon’s (Region 4A) Cadeon Arellano (38.42) some five hours before thousands—athletes, officials and local fans—were disappointed to watch Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao absorb a unanimous-decision loss to the still-unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The hosts, through Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario, added one more giant LED screen to the original four they had planned to set up for a free public viewing of the megafight live from Las Vegas, Nevada. Competitions were halted for about an hour starting at noon as Mayweather used his longer reach, jabs and to the view of the thousands of fans, dirty tactics, to frustrate Pacquiao. There were some anxious moments though as the live feed at the DDNSTC was cut halfway through the seventh round and resumed during the final minute of the 10th.
Capasao admitted to be a Pacquiao fanatic but opted to focus on his event in the Palaro supported by the Tagum Agricultural Development Co. Inc., Damosa Land, Davao Packaging Corp., Davao International Container Terminal Inc. and Pearl Farm Beach Resort.
“I did not think much of Pacquiao-Mayweather because I felt I could watch the bout on replay,” Capasao said. “But when I learned Pacquiao lost, I was disappointed because Mayweather does not fight clean.”
Capasao jump-started Western Visayas’s bid to regain the overall championship as the kids from Region 6—which has been bridesgroom to NCR several times since the Department of Education used the Olympic system in 2005 for determining the grand winner—hauled two more gold medals also in athletics.
Jose Jerry Belibestre Jr. topped the secondary boys’ long jump with a 7.15-meter personal-best performance, forcing Central Luzon’s Martin James Esteban (6.96) to settle for silver and teammate Cesar Fernandez (6.75) for the bronze.
Western Visayas had it so good on Sunday, thanks to Matt Atanas’s golf-medal throw of 10.70 meters in elementary boys’ shotput. Lord Hanz Floyd Gayla put Cagayan Valley early on the medal tally board by clinching silver with 10.41 meters, while Jerick Mendoza bagged bronze with 10.29 for Calabarzon’s second medal on opening day.
Capasao’s mom told the BusinessMirror his son took to baseball when he was in elementary but got emotionally hooked to sports after his father was shot dead in an ambush by unidentified men in 2007.
“Sports is like a rehab [therapy] for him,” said the elder Capasao, who was with her husband during the ambush. “He puts dedication and discipline in himself through sport, which was very evident after his father died.”
Coach Crispolo Celebrado wanted Capasao—the 2014 Milo Little Olympics’ Visayas gold winner and national finals silver medalist—to concentrate on one event after the injury he incurred in training to be a potential for the national team.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes