Hong, a 12-year-old former student of La Salle de Araneta in Malabon, ruled the 100-meter backstroke and then led the 200m medley relay to another victory, both in record-breaking fashions that highlighted the Big City bets’ superb performance in the pool.
Hong’s final time of one minute and 10.80 seconds hardly mattered as she timed in 1:09.65 seconds as early as the prelims to breach the eight-year old mark of national team mainstay Luica Dacanay by almost five seconds.
"I wasn’t expecting this, I was surprised myself," said a shy Hong, who will also go for the gold in the 4x100m medley relay today and 50m backstroke tomorrow.
The Valenzuela native then joined Jasmine Al-Kahldi, Rory Tapang and Ma. Kimberly Go in copping the 200m medley relay gold in 2:14.65. The same squad shattered the old record of 2:18.27 set also by NCR in Iloilo last year as early as the qualifying heats by clocking 2:14.31.
Al-Khaldi ruled the 50-m butterfly in 31.32 while Gian Daniel Berino reigned in 200m freestyle in 2:18.53 as they joined Hong in the double-gold medal club.
NCR’s fifth gold came from its boys’ 200m medley relay squad of Ammir Hamsain, Berino, Myke Darren Wong and Joseph Benjamin Ramos which clocked 2:10.44.
While NCR showed the way in the elementary division, Western Visayas stamped its class in the secondary level, winning three gold medals through the heroics of Krestia Angela Lacson (400m free), Dominque Balinas (200m butterfly) and the 200m medley relay squad of Kiefer Ticao, Raffy Hechanova, Joseph Gloria and Miguel Villanueva.
Host Bicol, for its part, bagged two gold medals, courtesy of Klarenz Chavez (200m butterfly) and John Bryle Zapanta (400m free).
NCR faltered with only Carmina Quilala delivering one gold in the 100m backstroke where she timed in 1:12.11.
In the centerpiece athletics event, Flores May Fisalbon of Central Visayas topped the elementary triple jump with a 9.76m feat, beating Alfrena Jade Diasana (9.72) of Cotabato and Jessica Bito (9.71) of Cagayan Valley.
Earlier, host Bicol claimed its first gold medal through Aiza Rosero in secondary javelin where she heaved 36.95 meters to beat Western Visayas’ Sharmen Joy Bucaling (33.58) and Jossie Entrina (32.90).
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and Ilocos likewise copped their first gold medals courtesy of Rizal Kasim in elementary javelin and Debby Catabay in secondary triple jump, respectively.
Kasim made a 45.94m heave in besting Robert Monreal (42.41) of Northern Mindanao and teammate Alnajir Aahdi (41.79) while Catabay turned in an 11.20m jump in overcoming Irin Baluran (11.03) of Central Visayas and Maricel Mariano (10.97) of Calabarzon.
In basketball, NCR walloped Central Luzon, 81-52, to close in on a semifinal berth.
The Big City cagers, represented mostly by players from the Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs, made it to the round-of-eight after sweeping Group A and will take on Western Visayas, last year’s losing finalist, and Eastern Visayas next.