C Visayas foils C’barzon, tops PRISAA

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Philippines – Central Visayas leaned on its karatekas’ 12-gold medal haul in the final day of competitions as it fended off Calabarzon to retain the overall championship in the PRISAA National Games here yesterday.

Samuel Orillio led the Region VII bets’ romp at the Pangasinan State University gym, winning the men’s kata individual gold while Radoc Rell Adam ruled the 60kgs men’s kumite, Sydney Metante reigned in the 75kgs men’s kumite and Marjorie Villareal topped the 61kgs, women’s kumite.

CV also topped the men’s and women’s team events which staked four gold medals each, giving the defending champions the big cushion they needed to thwart the final day charge of Calabarzon in ball games.

Central Visayas thus finished with 77 gold medals, 50 silver and 29 bronze to keep the crown it won in dominating fashion in Cebu City last year.

Calabarzon ran away with the men’s and women’s cage titles and the men’s volleyball diadem to clinch second overall with a 68-30-49 tally.

Western Visayas won two golds in athletics, one in swimming (Ronel Duran, men’s 50m fly) and one in table tennis team event as it wound up third overall with a 61-60-86 haul while Davao Region took fourth place with a 30-45-58 production.

The other gold medalists in karatedo were Cagayan Valley region’s Victor Rebolledo (55kgs kumite male) and Ryan Armasa (75kgs male kumite), Western Visayas’ Jerrydale Fuentes (67kgs male kumite) and Pinky Flores (68kgs female kumite) and Mercedes Collates (68kgs female kumite), Eastern Visayas’ Grace Repalda (50kgs female kumite) and Northern Mindanao’s Seririt Renario Elfron (55kgs female kumite).

Calabarzon, meanwhile, struck in ballgames as University of Batangas drew 18 points each from Edcel Mag-Isa and Roel Rodovia to beat Lyceum Northwestern University of Dagupan City, 103-87, for the men’s basketball gold while its women’s team outplayed Central Luzon, 72-50, in the finals at the Narciso Ramos gym.

Later, the men’s volleyball squad, represented by La Salle-Dasmariñas, Cavite withstood a late comeback by Central Visayas, led by University of San Carlos and University of Southern Philippines Foundation, to complete a 3-0 romp.

Western Visayas’ selection from Central Philippine University, Iloilo Doctors College and Univ. of Saint La Salle-Bacolod, however, foiled La Salle-Dasmariñas in women’s volley finals.

Accounting for Calabarzon’s 10 gold-haul in swimming were Jacklyn Orig (women’s 50m fly), Jaydee Rose Dalay, (women’s 50m breast, women’s 200m IM), Jerome Magallanes (men’s 200m IM), and the quartet of Jaevico Dalay, Jerome Magallanes, Angel Villanueva, Rizaljun Jurado (men’s 400m medley 4x100 relay), Kimberly Briones, Jaydee Rose Dalay, Jacklyn Orig, Nempha Maestro (women’s 400m medley 4x100 relay) and Rizal Jun Jurado, Jaevico Dalay, John Henry Calma, Jerome Magallanes (men’s 800m free 4X200 relay).