DUMAGUETE—Cebu’s Kylie Kenjie Dahili and Leyte’s Bianca Jane Combate emerged as the fastest runners while Aklan swimmer Michael Gabriel Lozada became the first triple gold medalist to highlight Day 2 of the Batang Pinoy Games Visayas regional championships on Sunday here.
Scratched from last year’s Cebu provincial squad for lack of funds, Dahili vindicated his inclusion this time in eking out a close win in the boys 100-meter dash in 11.88 seconds, relegating La Carlota’s Rhome Jed Ojeno (11.984) and hometown bet Mark Francis Pelletero (11.989) to the silver and bronze, respectively at the Gov. Mariano Perdices Stadium.
The reigning Palarong Pambansa sprint champion, Combate reasserted her mastery over the field in the handily topping the girl’s century dash in 12.321 seconds in the weeklong youth sportsfest organized and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Overcoming his heartbreaking disqualification in the boys 12-and-under 400-meter individual medley event, Lozada gamely came back to wind up on a winning note in handily ruling the 200-meter backstroke in a personal best of 2:48.34 at the Lorenzo G. Teves Aqua Center.
Counting his wins in the 200-meter IM and 50-meter backstroke last Saturday, the 10-year-old Kalibo pride is the first athlete to capture three golds in the meet also backed by the Dumaguete city government led by Felipe Mariano “Ipe” Remollo.
“Hindi ako nakasali last year po dahil nag-kulang ng pondo yong team namin,” bared Dahili, who won a silver each in the high school boys 400-meter run and 4×100-meter relay in the Palarong Pambansa held in San Jose, Antique last April.
“Medyo confident po akong mananalo,” said Combate, a member of the Leyte Sports Academy based in Tacloban, who beat teammate Shane Avryl Demiao (12.98) and Bacolod City’s Antonette Jay Agulion (13.214).
“Michael was crying when we informed him that he got disqualified in the 400 IM. Masakit because it was his first time to be disqualified in a competition, and it was a gold,” said Cris Lozada, the young swimmer’s father, of the offense that cost his son what could have been his third straight mint.
“Lozada touched the pad with only one hand, which is an offense, as he finished the breast stroke leg in his transition to the freestyle leg of the medley. We have to be fair and a rule is a rule,” tournament director Richard Luna, a certified International Swimming Federation technical official, noted.
Shaken by the ordeal, Lozada slumped to fifth place in his next event, the 100-meter butterfly, won by Bohol’s Andrei Louis Valencia (1:13.57).
“Ang sabi ko kay Michael pagbutihin niya since the 200-meter back would be his last race and would have to go home after his swim,” added the elder Lozada, a travel lodge manager, who brought his entire family of a wife and three kids via a nine-hour land trip from Kalibo last Thursday.
Responding to his father’s encouragement, the boy shrugged off his early disappointment and set a blistering pace in the 200-meter backstroke, with Negros Oriental’s Marco Juan Sayson (3:06.51) and Bacolod’s Rafael Uy (3:07.51) finishing a distant second and third, respectively.
In other boys athletic results, Cebu added a second gold as Rick Angelo Sotto topped the boys long jump (6.29 meters), Bacolod’s John Paul Papio clinched the boys 400-meter hurdles (1:00.768), Jerome Acejo of Maasin, Leyte the shot put (12.71).
In the girls division, Bohol’s Mary Joy Loberanis won the girls 3,000-meter run (11:29.986) and Emily Diez, the 400-meter hurdles (1:14.77). PSC-POC Media Group
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