MARIKINA, Philippines – It was a bitter-sweet ending for Team Visayas as it topped the elementary division, but fell short in its bid of preventing traditional powerhouse National Capital Region from completing a grandslam feat in the Milo Little Olympics National Finals, which formally dropped off its curtains yesterday at the Marikina Sports Center.
Team NCR successfully snatched the perpetual trophy after coming out as the overall champions of the Nestle Philippines-bankrolled event for the third straight year with a total of 647.5 points. So dominant were the NCR bets that they upstaged the Bisdaks decisively.
Team Visayas was a distant second with only 563 points, while Mindanao finally emerged as third with 436 points. Luzon was at the tailend of the standings with 393.5 points.
NCR ruled the secondary division with 349 total points coming from athletics, football, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis and tennis.
“It such a very satisfying feeling to be winning in our own place though I’d say it is so much harder this time because a lot are expected from us. The pressure is so high because of that perpetual trophy, at the same time kami din yung host. Mahirap when you have to attend to so many things,” said NCR organizer Dr. Robert Calo.
In the elementary level, the Bisdaks reigned supreme with 298.5 points, but it was not enough for them to dislodge their chief rivals from their lofty throne. They stamped their classes in football, swimming and volleyball as well as badminton, chess and taekwondo.
The Bisdaks clearly struggled in the secondary battle, posting only 248 points from basketball, sepak takraw, scrabble, chess, gymnastics, table tennis and tennis.
“The host team is really hard to beat. We missed the overall supremacy and the secondary crown with new teams around. If only we were able to deliver in swimming and volleyball, we could have defeated NCR,” said Team Visayas delegation head Ricky Ballesteros.
In the last day of action, six more national meet records were shattered in swimming and eight in athletics.
The new record-holders in swimming were Michael Ichiro Kong of Team Visayas in the secondary boys 100m butterfly (1:01.95), Fil-Australian Cedric Fox of Team Mindanao in the secondary boys 800m freestyle (9:16.81), Sean Gabriel Cruz of NCR in the 50m breaststroke (37.84), and Robi Mangilinan of Team Luzon in the 100m freestyle (56.05). The other marks were set by NCR in boys 200m medley relay (1:58.03) and Team Visayas in the 400m freestyle relay (4:42.56).
In athletics, eight new records were established, including one from Ninolito Justiniane of Team Visayas in the secondary boys 400m run with the time of 50.7 seconds. He also led the Visayas squad to a record-breaking performance in the 4x100m relay, while his teammates John Rafols erased the triple jump record with his own 13.80m mark and April Batoto in the distaff side with a distance of 9.68m
Aside from its secondary volleyball bets failing to deliver the goods, Visayas also failed big time in secondary taekwondo with no golds at all and only three golds in the elementary through Cris Hilado, Lorri Diaz, and Allyah Eusalan.
It was truly an emotionally-charged final day for the Bisdaks as they faltered in pulling off a golden double.
The Don Bosco Technology Center-manned elementary football team stayed undefeated in four years after sealing its campaign with a 2-1 victory over NCR, but NCR, powered by San Beda College booters, outsmarted the Bisdaks by virtue of goal difference to bag the gold in the secondary division.
Just like in football, the basketball teams of Visayas, both composed of players from the University of San Carlos USC, also met contrasting fates. The region's bets claimed the championship in the secondary division after eking out a 55-53 win over Luzon, thanks to the endgame heroics of Kit Vincent Moral who sank the game-clincher with 2.5 seconds left to play. Their elementary counterparts, however, were again reduced to tears after bowing to their bitter rivals from Mindanao, 39-48. (FREEMAN)