Misamis teener nails Batang Pinoy 1st gold

MANILA, Philippines - Last-minute entry Jie Anne Calis of Misamis Occidental took the first gold in the Batang Pinoy 2012 as she topped the long jump in the rain at the Jose Rizal Memorial State University sports complex in Dapitan City yesterday.

Calis, a 13-year-old bet from Plaridel municipality, leaped to a distance of 4.25 meters in her second jump to clinch the gold.

She was originally scheduled to vie in the 1,500-meter and 800m where she won gold and silver medals, respectively, in the recent Palarong Pambansa in Lingayen but was forced to compete in the long jump after organizers scrapped the running events due to bad tracks.

“My trip here did not go to waste because I still managed to compete and even won the gold,’’ said the 7th grader from Look National High School in Filipino. She goes for a double in the triple jump today.

Over at the Rizal Memorial Institute covered courts, a triplets from Western Visayas made good impression as they won three gold medals in pencak silat national finals.

John Carl Segutier grabbed the gold in tunggal (solo artistic), while brothers John Christian and John Clark ruled ganda (double choreographed tactics) before all three of them snared the top prize in the regu (team artistic form).

The 13-year-olds, who also won the golds in 2010 edition of Batang Pinoy in Manila, are sixth graders at Rizal Elementary School in Molo, Iloilo City. They were trained by coach Lino Baldevarona who said the triplets are seeded in the national finals in arnis next month in their hometown.

In boxing, Saranggani sent three fighters to the semifinals. Donning images of boxing icon and Rep. Manny Pacquiao on their shirts, Dave Mark Apolinario (32kgs), Steven Apolinario (42kgs) and Rodney Panerio (34kgs) scored points win over their respective opponents to advance.

Regional powerhouse Panabo City qualified four in the medal rounds namely Ferdinand Apat (44kgs), Khem Jhon Samoramos (42kgs), Jiple Jay Cabrera (38kgs) and Jeffrey Miras (32kgs). Another tough team Misamis Oriental had three boxers advancing in Carlo Paalam (38kgs), Junil Pamisa (42kgs) and Lambert Daming (44kgs).