Janry Ubas hopes to use a scheduled national performance trial within the next two months and the National Open in Ilagan, Isabela to get ready for a better podium finish in the coming 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
Ubas, the bronze medalist in the heptathlon event of the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam, said this after setting two new national records when he bagged a bronze medal in heptathlon in the recent 10th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.
“Malapit na ako sa peak. Mga 80% ready na ako,” said the 29-year-old Ubas.
Philippines Athletics Track and Field Association secretary general Edward Kho said it was the second time that the Philippines has won a medal in the meet.
The last time Team Philippines won a bronze medal was in 2016 in Doha, Qatar with Eric Cray in the 60m.
Ubas had two of the six national marks shattered when he settled for third place after completing eight events in men’s heptathlon, tallying a total of 5246 points.
Ubas broke the previous mark set by Jesson Cid at 4565 points in the 2014 Asian Indoor Championships in Hangzhou.
The national mark of Donovant Arriola of 7.64 meters back in 2015 also fell when he took first place in the long jump even at 7.66 meters, Ubas took the lead in two events, after the 60-meter run.
Ubas, who was leading after four events on Day 2 last Saturday, was behind Japanese bets Yumi Maruyama and Keisuke Okuda at the end of the final event, which is the 1000-meter run.
Maruyama took the gold with 5801 points, with Okuda taking second with 5497 points.
“Ang lalakas ng kalaban. Nag-second place ako pagkatapos. Iyung last event, hindi ko na kinaya, hindi naman ako malakas doon,” added Ubas, who settled for eighth position in the 1,000-meter run.
He stayed in top three after Ubas got three more podiums in the high jump, 60 meter hurdles and pole vault.
Four other national records fell, with Sarah Dequinan breaking two, after settling for ninth place in the women’s pentathlon meet.
Dequinan’s 3530 points was the first national indoor record in the event, while the 1.66 meters that she cleared in high jump eclipsed Maureen Schrivjers’ 1.60-meter effort back in 2014.
Leonard Grospe ended the day for the Philippines with a fifth-place finish in high jump, and his 2.15 meter feat shattered the six-year-old national record of Tyler Ruiz (2.19 meters)
Triple jumper Harry Diones submitted a 15.77m jump that put him at the 10th spot.
Earlier, Fil-Spainsh trackster John Cabang made it to fourth place at 7.96 seconds in the men’s 60-meter hurdles.
Eric Cray bowed out of contention in the men’s 60-meter run, following a minor strain in his groin muscles, as diagnosed by the team doctor of Chinese Taipei.
