Lovers dance away with two bronze medals

GUANGZHOU – Two lovers from Cebu and Bacolod danced like kings and queens and charmed the judges and the world with their technically-sound, thrilling rendition of the cha-cha-cha and the paso doble on their way to two bronze medals that lifted the hearts of the national contingent on the second day of the Asian Games yesterday.

Bacolod native Ronnie Sta. Vergara and partner Charlea Lagaras of Cebu drew a wild applause from the predominantly Chinese audience with their strong, dynamic steps – she the bull and he the torero – to win the bronze medal in the Latin Paso Doble behind gold medal winner China and silver medalist Korea.

They made it a double-bronze medal performance when they partnered in the Latin cha-cha, executing their movements in a well-coordinated, lively fashion to gain their second bronze behind another China-Korea domination.

As fast as they won the only two medals of the Philippines so far, an airlines flight will spirit them away at 8 a.m. today to Manila where they will celebrate the country’s breakthrough medals with families in the south.

“It’s the rule of the POC-PSC, it’s all right if we cannot take them to shopping before they go,” said their manager Emma Nieto, who has guided the couple to many diadems, including this year’s national championships at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

It was the highest honor so far for two serious dance lovers whose passion for the sport three years back blossomed into a loving partnership just a year ago.

“Their performance in the paso doble was awesome even the Chinese crowd applauded their rendition, we thought we had won the gold or silver,” said Nieto. “I’m very happy for them, at least it’s a big reward for all their efforts.

Nieto herself spent P50,000 on the costumes of the couple and is hoping they will now get some training allowances from the PSC to gain serious training abroad.

“The only foreign training they have is from adjudicators whom we invite to dance sessions after the competitions,” said Nieto. “I hope the PSC can help them defray the cost of foreign training.”

The dancesport team thus wound up its stint in the Asian Games, producing a heart-warming performance and two bronze medals that served as inspiration for other members of the Philippine contingent going into the third day of competitions in the 15-day quadrennial meet today.

All other bets did not fare well in the judges’ mind, missing the ticket to the finals in the Latin-Jive, Latin-Samba, Latin Five Dances, and the Standard Quickstep, Slow Foxtrot, Five Dances, Tango and Waltz all swept away by world-class dancers from China.