Bukidnon booters stamp class

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Bukidnon shone in football while Zamboanga and Sultan Kudarat dominated the action in table tennis at the start of the Mindanao qualifying leg of the second Philippine Olympic Festival here yesterday.

The Bukidnon booters blanked Maguindanao, 4-0, in a morning match before clobbering Davao del Norte via the same score in the afternoon to lead Group A of the under-15 division at the Army Camp field in the outskirts of the city.

Bukidnon’s under-17 squad proved tougher as it steamrolled the host province, 11-0, to set in motion the team’s bid to sweep both age group divisions.

In the other group of the under-15 section, Davao City also fashioned out a pair of wins over North Cotabato, 3-0, and the Misamis Oriental-Cagayan de Oro selection, 5-0, to likewise book a spot in the crossover semifinals.

In baseball, also at the Army grounds, Misamis Oriental smothered Cagayan de Oro, 11-0, to inch closer to the gold medal round in this weeklong meet backed by The STAR, Globe, Accel, AMA Computer College, Asia Brewery, Dragon Works, Negros Navigation and Creativity Lounge.

At the SM Mall, host Zamboanga and Sultan Kudarat racked up three victories each to show the way in table tennis.

Zamboanga leaned on the victories of Dorothy Anjanette Santos and Verlin Ann Lacastesantos in the girls’ under-17 division and Rizza Mae Darlucio in the under-14 category.

Santos, a 15-year-old native of Sibugan, edged Salimah Batalo of the host province, 11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 11-9; Lacastesantos, a 15-year-old lass from Pasonanca, trounced Sherida Amora of Misamis Oriental, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4; while Darlucio downed Jesaphil Quibal of Misamis Oriental, 11-2, 11-3, 11-2.

“We’re having a good start, we hope to sustain it and win a medal here,” said Zamboanga table tennis coach Eddie Tadea in Filipino.

Pint-sized Serknight Benoya, a 10-year-old Grade 5 pupil from Corpus Christi School in Makasandig, led the host’s early charge as he blitzed past Ceazar Calderon of Sarangani, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8, in the under-14 class.

Other Misamis Oriental wins came from Peter Tahum over Junar Saragosa of Sarangani, 11-4, 11-9, 11-4, in under-14 and Van Darryl Villondo against Ongsi Andani of Zamboanga, 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-6.

Gabby Villan downed Benjie Hernane of Misamis Oriental, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10, Peter Sibug eked out a marathon 11-8, 12-10, 1-11, 6-11, 11-7 win over Tyrone Saquilabon of Sarangani and Kyle Antenor slammed Jaymar Sorial of Sarangani to account for Sultan Kudarat’s victories.

The event, which kicked off last March with the staging of the Northern and Central Luzon qualifying leg in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, is staged to discover talents that could be tapped, trained and developed to become the country’s representatives to various international competitions, including the 2010 World Youth Olympics and the 2012 London Olympic Games.