LONG jumpers College of St. Benilde’s Julian Reem Fuentes and Bacolod bet Jerry Belibestre, are expected to fight for slots in the national athletics team.
Fuentes and Belibestre recently surpassed the silver medal standards of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.
Because of this, two are expected to make their presence felt in the coming 2017 Ayala Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships in Ilagan, Isabela.
The 22-year old Fuentes shattered the year-old meet record that he set last year in the 92nd National Collegiate Athletic Association trackfest.
From a leap of 7.42 meters last year, he cleared 7.59 meters last month at the Philsports oval in Pasig.
On the other hand, the 19-year-old Belibestre leapt 7.52 meters in the Bacolod Monthly Relays.
The gold medal standard in the 2015 SEA Games is set at 7.75 meters, which was accomplished by Supanara of Thailand.
The silver medal standard of 7.52 meters is from Phan Van Nam of Vietnam, while Fil-American Donovant Arriola owns the bronze medal standard of 7.51 meters.
The National Open will be held from March 28 to April 2.
For many prospective members of the national team, the competition will serve as a tryout for the prospective national pool.
