Army reigns in PDBF dragon boat regatta

MANILA, Philippines - Army ended its season on a winning note, narrowly beating perennial opponent Navy in capturing the  men’s open standard division and overall honors in the last leg of the Cobra Energy Drink-PDBF Dragon Boat Regatta 2015 at Manila Bay last weekend.

The Army paddlers kept their slim edge over the  Seamen all throughout in ruling the 300-meter  race in one minute, 11.87 seconds, relegating the latter to second place (1:12.44). Air Force took third (1:13.60) and the Philippine Wave Warriors fourth (1:15.07).

Navy and Coast Guard split the championships in the other divisions in the fourth and final leg of the series organized by the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation and supported by the country’s leading energy drink.

In the Cobtra regatta finale that drew a banner field of 53 entries, Navy A topped the women’s race in 1:27.29, shading Coast Guard (1:28.23).  Navy B was third (1:29.14) and Air Force fourth (1:30.98).

Coast Guard captured the mixed event finals in  1:12.54, with Navy A fading to second (1:13.23), barely beating Air Force (1:13.95), and  Navy B (1:14.33).

Counting earlier triumphs in the first and second legs, Army bagged the overall crown in the men’s Open division with 520 points, Navy took second (480) and Triton A was third (420).

Coast Guard, however, swept the overall championships in the women’s and mixed standard divisions in the competition also backed by Summit Water and the Manila Tourism and Cultural Bureau.

The Coast Guard paddlers bagged the women’s title with 320 points, followed by Navy A (310) and Triton A (220). They took the mixed event with 450 points, followed by Navy A (420) and Blue Phoenix third (340).

The three overall champions – Army, Coast Guard, and Navy A – were awarded by Cobra P10,000 each for their efforts at the conclusion of the 2015 edition of the country’s premier dragon boat rowing competition.

“We are glad by the huge turnout in our season-ending regatta. Although we were unable to hold the third leg due to the rough conditions of the Manila Bay then, still the dragon boat rowing community showed its”Tunay na Lakas” in our fourth and final competition this year,” said Cobra brand assistant Tahmi Abrena.