BEST tankers eye medals in Malaysia swimming tilt

MANILA, Philippines – The Behrouz Elite Swimming Team (BEST) Philippines will be gearing up for the start of the 58th Malaysia Invitational Age Group Swimming Championships Thursday at the National Aquatic Center Kuala Lumpur Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil, Malaysia.

First up will be Immaculate Heart of Mary College-Parañaque ace tanker Mohammad Behrouz Mojdeh and Yugo Cabana, who will try to win the Philippines’ first gold medal in the tournament in the boys’ 11-12 50m butterfly.

World Junior Championships semifinalist Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh of Brent International School will also compete in the girls’ 15-17 400m freestyle as well as Filipino-British Ruben White, who will race in the boys’ 18-25 50m butterfly.

“It’s always our goal to give our best to win medals for our country. We are all set to compete, we prepared hard for this. Apart from winning medals, we’re also looking forward to gaining experience since a lot of good swimmers from the region are showing up here,” said Micaela Jasmine.

Julia Ysabelle Basa of Immaculate Heart of Mary College-Parañaque will compete next in the girls’ 15-17 400m freestyle as well as Peter Dean, Samuel Caguimbal, Yuan Parto, Nathan Sason and Reiniele Trinidad in the boys’ 15-17 50m butterfly.

Mikai Trinidad (girls’ 15-17 50m butterfly), Kimberly Estacio (girls’ 13-14 50m butterfly), Sierdon Caguimbal (boys’ 18-25 50m butterfly), Ashby Canlas (boys’ 15-17 100m breaststroke) ) and Lleyton Rara (boys’ 15-17 400m freestyle) in their respective events.

The novice tankers spent their entire Wednesday training at the National Aquatic Center under the watchful eye of head coach Virgie De Luna.

“We hope and pray for time improvements and also hopefully we can bring medals back home,” said team manager Joan Mojdeh.

The tournament will serve as a qualifying event for the prestigious World Junior Championships, Asian Age-Group Championships and Southeast Asian Age-Group Championships.