Jake Ramos of Central Visayas (right) battles against a Region 10 booter in their quarterfinal match at the Bicol University Sports Complex. Central Visayas won, 5-0. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
Legazpi City — No room for error.
Three more gold medals came in but the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (Cviraa) may be standing on a tightrope in its bid to come up with a better finish in the 59th Palarong Pambansa, which enters its penultimate stage today here.
Cviraa hauled in two golds in the secondary girls taekwondo with Veronica Garces and Zozen Prajes ruling the bantamweight and heavyweight divisions, respectively. Rogelio Miguel Tremedal secured the region’s first gold in archery after he topped the secondary boys Single Fita Round with 1,257 points.
The three golds, however, failed to save Cviraa from dropping to fifth place with a tally of 14 golds, 11 silvers and 14 bronze medals. Cviraa entered yesterday’s competition occupying the fourth spot.
Cviraa came into the week-long competition looking to improve its sixth place finish last year, where it collected 18 golds, 29 silvers and 29 bronzes.
“Our athletes are really doing their best,” said Dr. Luz Jandayan, chief of Education Support Service Division of the Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd-7). “I can see that they are determined to win and I am still hopeful that we can still improve our ranking.”
Cviraa is hoping to get more medals from the ball games. And so far, things are looking bright in that field.
The secondary football team advanced to the semifinal round after blanking Region 10, 5-0. The secondary boys basketball team also made it to the semis with an 83-79 win over Region 10 in their quarterfinal match.
The elementary girls volleyball team moved closer to reaching the final round by beating ARMM, 25-5, 25-7.
Eduardo Jimenez Jr., the remaining Cviraa boxer in contention for gold, will be fighting for the championship after scoring a unanimous win over Branden Sabillo of the Negros Island Region (NIR) in the semifinal match of the light mosquito weight division.
As of 8 p.m. yesterday, Cviraa is trailing Region 10, which was at fourth spot with 18 golds, 12 silvers and 22 bronzes.
Perennial champion National Capital Region (NCR) has pulled away, leading the rankings by a mile with a 48-30-27 (gold-silver-bronze) tally.
Vania Belle Kintanar of Central Visayas slides to the plate in the elementary girls softball game against Davao. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
At second was Region 4-A with 27 golds, 21 silvers and 22 bronzes followed by Region 6 at 25-20-18.
DROUGHT IN POOL
Cviraa is feeling the pinch of the medal drought in the pool.
Top swimmer Raven Faith Alcoseba fell short in her campaign to win a gold in her debut in the secondary competition.
Alcoseba, who pocketed bronze in the 100m backstroke last Tuesday, netted silver in the 200m breastroke, where she figured in a tight battle with eventual champion Nicole Meah Pamintuan of NCR. Pamintuan timed 2:32.38, while Alcoseba logged 2:33.30.
It would have been Alcoseba’s second silver in the competition but she was disqualified in the 200m individual medley last Wednesday. Alcoseba logged the second fastest time in the contest but technical officials ruled she committed a violation when she overturned her shoulder before touching in the transition from back to breaststroke.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
