Cebu City Niños gold medalists in the Batang Pinoy National Championships 2023 (from left to right) Clint Nabil Dumaguit, Jherson Ponce, Alex Daniel Buanghog, Althea Bacaro, and Jessie John Cabansay. | Facebook photos
CEBU CITY, Philippines— The Cebu City Niños had a promising start at the Batang Pinoy National Championships 2023 in Manila, securing five gold medals in the first two days of competition.
In total, the Niños earned 13 medals, including five golds, four silvers, and four bronzes.
The four gold medals were achieved by Cebu City’s karatekas and weightlifters, with an additional gold in archery.
Cebu City’s gold medalists in karatedo were Clint Nabil Dumaguit and Jherson Ponce.
Both athletes, who belong to the Arnis Shotokan Karatedo Society (ASKS), excelled in the 10-11 years old intermediate kata and the 12-13 years old beginners kata events, respectively.
Meanwhile, the gold medals in weightlifting were claimed by Alex Daniel Buanghog and Althea Bacaro.
Contributing another gold for Cebu City was Jessie John Cabansay, who triumphed in the under-10 recurve 10-meter category in archery. Cabansay also secured a bronze medal in the 15m category of the same event.
Other notable medalists from Cebu City included Paul Vincent Mondaya, who won a silver medal in weightlifting, and Veronica Quizmundo, who earned a bronze in the same category.
Also, karateka Briella Gacelle Canico secured a bronze medal in the 10-11 years old female advance kata.
As of now, Muntinlupa City leads the medal standings at the Batang Pinoy National Championships with 10 gold medals and seven bronzes. Quezon City is in second place with a 6-2-5 (gold-silver-bronze) tally, followed by Zamboanga City with (6 golds, 2 silvers). Cebu City is currently ranked 13th in the overall tally.
PNG MEDALISTS
In the Philippine National Games (PNG), Cebu City has secured three silver medals and four bronzes.
Two of Cebu City’s silver medals were earned by Artjoy Torregosa and Judy Grace Reposo in the athletics event.
Torregosa finished second to Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) bronze medalist Christine Hallasgo in the women’s 10,000-meter run.
Torregosa of the University of San Carlos (USC) completed the race in 39 minutes and 09.49 seconds, earning the silver, while Hallasgo crossed the finish line in 37:06.96 to claim the gold medal.
Rounding off the top three was Bohol’s April Joy Alampayan, who recorded a time of 39:10.04.
In the women’s javelin throw’s junior women’s division, Judy Grace Reposo from the University of Cebu secured another silver medal for Cebu City.
Cebu City’s other silver medal came in wushu, courtesy of Simlord Tana in the 65-kilogram division of the Sanda Male event.
The bronze medalists in the Sanda Male event were Reyjohn Dalmacio (48 kilograms), Mark Otida (56 kilograms), Chad Vincent Gomez (60 kilograms), and Gerald Tubog (80 kilograms), all under the supervision of their trainer, Osias Cartagena.
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