DTCC athletes and coaches pose for a group photo to celebrate their impressive performance in Davao City. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Dancesport Team Cebu City (DTCC) delivered a dominating performance at the 3rd Davao Battle of the Champions Dancesport Championship and the Philippine Dance Sport Federation (PDSF) National Ranking Points Competition, held last weekend in Davao City.
The powerhouse team amassed 30 gold medals, along with 14 silvers and seven bronzes, in the competition that drew top dancesport teams from across the Philippines.
Leading the charge for DTCC were solo athletes Princess Reina Benolirao, Rosheen Kate Elmido, and Maica Nicole Jean Spano who earned multiple gold medals. The team’s dynamic pairs also played crucial roles in their stellar presence on the dance floor.
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Benolirao dazzled the judges with four golds in the juvenile samba, jive, cha-cha-cha, and the highly competitive jive-Battle of Champions event. Her stellar performance also brought home four silvers and one bronze.
Elmido joined the gold rush with three titles in the juvenile samba, jive, and tango categories, adding three silvers to her medal haul.
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Spano, however, emerged as the DTCC’s golden girl, racking up an astonishing 17 gold medals.
Her victories spanned across several categories, including juvenile C Latin bracket 1, samba bracket 2, cha-cha-cha bracket 2, jive bracket 1, paso doble, C standard bracket 2, waltz bracket 2, tango bracket 2, quickstep bracket 1, Viennese waltz, and foxtrot.
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She continued her winning streak in the Battle of Champions, claiming top honors in cha-cha-cha, juvenile C, samba, C standard, waltz, tango, and quickstep.
In the pairs division, DTCC’s Shardie and Marjorie Abellana took the top spot in the Special Event 1A Latin and Grade B Latin categories, while Richard Amiel Rotilles and Chelsea Jen Siarza triumphed in Junior Latin A and C.
Other gold medalists from DTCC’s formidable roster included Kharl Michael Miñoza and Ashley Cullo (U21 Latin), Dylan Jacob Kazer Esmero and Pauline Venice Duba (Youth A Latin), and Wilbert Aunzo and Pearl Marie Cañeda (Grade A Latin).
DTCC’s lopsided performance in Davao came roughly a month after they also brought home six gold medals in the World Dance Sports Federation (WDSF) World Challenge Cup Rising Stars & Standard WDSF International Open Latin & Standard held in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.