Eight Cebuano karatekas shine on national stage

CEBU, Philippines — Eight Cebuano karatekas under the aegis of the Association for the Upliftment of Karatedo (AUK)-Cebu Headquarters stamped their classes in the 5th Karate Pilipinas National Championships staged last March 1-3 at the Tagaytay Combat Sports Center in Tagaytay City.

Under the guidance of AUK founder Rhodee Antoinette Saavedra, a former karate world champion who is their coach and trainer, Cebu’s top bets hauled six gold, two silver, and four bronze medals in the three-day tilt spearheaded by the Karate Pilipinas Sports Federation Inc.

Alexis Nicole Villacarlos, a student of Cebu Eastern College (CEC), grabbed a pair of golds in the 14-15 years old cadet female open kata and -61kg category.

That earned Villacarlos a ticket to three international competitions starting off with the Southeast Asian Karate Championships on April 24-26 in Bangkok, Thailand, and then the Cadets, Juniors and Under 21 Asian Karate Championships this August in Manila.

Villacarlos is also set to don the country’s tri-colors in the World Karate 1-Youth League on May 16-19 in Coruña, Spain together with national athletes Giovanni Ephraim Apuya and Rus Josua Macaya.

Macaya bagged gold in the -55kg Under 21 male kumite and silver in the -55kg senior male kumite, while Apuya snatched a gilt in the U21 make kata and a bronze in the senior male kata.

Roshenne Maira Silva produced a gold in the -61kgs U21 female kumite and a bronze in the -61kgs senior female kumite, while

Jeremy Laurence Nopre delivered the other gold in the senior male kata.

Felix Calipusan Jr. contributed a silver in the senior male kata, while the other bronze medalists were Rik Simon Macaya in the -68kg junior male kumite and Allison Kyle Quiroga in the senior female kata.