Members of the CVIRAA girls elementary volleyball squad celebrate after winning over Calabarzon in the championship game at the Laguna Sports Complex. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Sta Cruz, Laguna— Apparently, the shift from a points system to medal system didn’t affect the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA).
The Bisdaks banked on a last-ditch effort to finish fourth overall in the 57th edition of the Palarong Pambansa, which came to a close yesterday after a week of intense competition.
It was a tight race for CVIRAA and the Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association (Caraa) as they both harvested 24 gold medals. Cviraa was able to snatch the fourth place since it amassed more silvers with 27 while adding 41 bronzes.
Caraa only had 11 silver medals and 12 bronzes but finishing fifth place is a huge improvement as it was only 10th last year.
The National Capital Region (NCR) was again the runaway champion after harvesting 107 golds, 64 silvers and 56 bronze medals. The host region, Region 4-A, finished second with a 38-51-51 tally, while Region 6 wound up third with 32 golds, 33 silvers and 38 silvers.
CVIRAA was battling for sixth or seventh place in the last few days of the meet and ending at fourth spot was a big surprise, especially for Dr. Vivian Ginete, athletic manager of Cviraa.
“Really? Fourth place? Are you sure of that?” Ginete blurted out when interviewed by Cebu Daily News over the phone. Ginete went home ahead of the delegation to prepare for the athletes’ trip back home.
“The result was a big surprise. Last night, we were number six. Thank God we were able to finish fourth. I will rush to Sto. Niño church to light candles,” said a visibly ecstatic Ginete. She said the Department of Education (DepEd) will be giving cash incentives to this year’s gold medalists.
BIG ACHIEVEMENT
Hopes were low for CVIRAA going into the meet since this year’s Palaro used the General Olympic Medal System after using the points system in the last 11 years.
“We were really concerned since the team events are only good for one gold this year but it is in the team events where Cviraa earns more golds. But finishing fourth under the medal system, we were able to prove that Region 7 has good athletes,” Ginete said.
CVIRAA actually finished one rank lower this year since it ended up third when it hosted the Palaro last year in Dumaguete City.
“The rise of Region 4-A is normal. The host region surges similar to what happened to Cviraa last year,” Ginete said.
The elementary athletes collected 10 golds, 18 silvers and 24 bronze medals, while the secondary athletes raked in 14 golds, nine silvers and 17 bronze medals.
“This is a big achievement for Region 7 since we don’t have a centralized training unlike some of the regions but our superintendents and the division supervisors did a good job of making sure that our athletes are training well,” Ginete said.
In CDN’s unofficial tally last Friday, Cviraa had 18 golds. It turned out that the gold medals won by Mayn Yengelle Coran (secondary takewondo flyweight), Eric Garces (sec. taekwondo featherweight), Christian Ralph Tagarao (sec. taekwondo welterweight) and Martin Jose Sayson (elementary boys 100-meter breast stroke) were not included yet in the tally.
BACK ON TOP
CVIRAA sealed the fourth place yesterday when its vaunted elementary girls volleyball team and the boys elementary football squad came out victorious in their respective championship matches.
In the volleyball finals, CVIRAA, composed of players from the multi-titled Catmon Integrated School, trounced Region 4-A, 25-14, 25-19.
“I just told the girls to stay focused and relaxed. I am happy for the team since these players trained hard and put a lot of effort,” said coach Vilma Veloso, who guided the team back to the top after a silver finish last year.
The Catmon belles have now won six gold medals since competing in the Palaro.
Region 7, however, faltered in the elementary boys volleyball after it bowed to Region 6, 15-25, 23-25, to settle for a silver.
The elementary football team, on the other hand, sealed Region 7’s second gold in the last day of competition when it tripped Region 4-A, 3-1.