SAN JOSE de Buenavista, Antique—Records fell in swimming and javelin throw and so did unexpexted heavy rains that provided cool relief after two days of the Palarong Pambansa Antique is hosting for the first time at the Binirayan Sports Complex.
National Capital Region (NCR) continued its onslaught in the 60th edition of the annual multi-sport games for elementary and high school athletes, highlighting its campaign on Tuesday with record-breaking performances by swimmers Sacho Maurice Ilustre and Jerald Jacinto.
Jacinto clocked 59.64 seconds to break his own secondary boys 100m backstroke record of 1:00.18 he set last year in Legaspi City.
Davao Region’s Christian Paul Anor of Davao Region (1:01.77) and Calabarzon’s Jose Mari Arcilla settled for the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Ilustre also outdid himself in the 200m butterfly and shattered the 2:07.28 record he established in Albay with a 2:04.88 performance that sent his teammate Philip Joaquin San (2:08.72) and Soccksargen’s Mervien Mirandilla (2:14.63) settling for podium finishes.
With the weather momentarily cooling down, Northern Mindanao’s Sylvian Faith Abunda took no time setting a new secondary girls’ javelin throw record of 42.85 meters, beating by a whopping 51 centimeters two-time Palaro champion Efrelyn Democer set last year.
The 16-year-old Abunda, an incoming Grade 11 student at Lantapan National High School, beat Negros Island’s Katherine Quitoy (40.63m) and Bukidnon province mate and Democer (40.43m).
“I really did not expect to win because my teammate was the champion. I am very happy because this is my first record-breaker in the Palaro,” said Abunda, who completed a javelin sweep for Western Visayas. On James Lozañez also broke the four-year boys’ record on Monday.
But NCR could not be denied of snatching a 14th straight overall championship. Before sundown on Tuesday, the Big City athletes were running away virtually unchallenged with 40 gold to go with 22 silver and 11 bronze medals, way ahead of Western Visayas’s 8-5-5 gold-silver-bronze haul and Negros Island’s 5-5-4 harvest.
NCR’s collection consisted of 22 gold medals in the elementary division and 18 in the secondary level.
In archery, Maria Fermi Bajado of Negros Island Region scored 334 to beat Maria Alexea Apigo of the Ilocos Region in the 30m event.
Bajado, a 15-year-old incoming Grade 10 student at archery-powerhouse Silliman University in Dumaguete City, said that she is targeting eight gold medals in the secondary girls division.
Apigo and Leanne Lagrimas of the Eastern Visayas turned in identical 328 after six rounds, but the Ilocos bet won the shoot off to claim silver.
NCR’s Kassandra Alcantara copped the gold medal in secondary girls’ shot put with 11.16m, four millimeters shy of matching the 25-year-old record of Marites Barrios of 11.20. Jane Cambonga of Calabarzon got silver with 10.89m, while Daniela Daynata, also of NCR, took the bronze with 10.83m.
Western Visayas Elvy Villagoniza won the secondary girls’ long jump with 5.63m.NCR’s Gianeli Gatinga (5.48m) and Negros Island’s Trexie de la Torre (5.36m) finished second and third, respectively.
Image credits: Roy Domingo