INQUIRER Sports

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines--National Capital Region remained on track for overall supremacy after lording it over in the pool and capping a fantastic stint in athletics with impressive performances in the relay events at the 2008 Palarong Pambansa here.

A deluge of gold medals and a couple of record-breaking feats allowed the Big City tankers to walk away with the swimming championship Friday, while the region's athletics Big Three--Isidro Del Prado, Justin Tabunda and Jose Renato Unso--put the defending champions on top in secondary athletics.

Sons of former national athletics luminaries, Del Prado, Tabunda and Unso teamed up with Rommel Labos to propel NCR to the gold in the 4x100-meter relay in 43.7 seconds to subdue Central Visayas (44.6) and Calabarzon (44.9).

The 16-year-old Del Prado and Unso, 17, combined forces later with John Willie Jules and Oliver Ocampo and spearhead NCR to the 4x400m relay gold with a time of three minutes, 25.7 seconds. Western Visayas wound up second (3:28.3) and Calabarzon third (3:28.5).

The pair of golden feats provided Del Prado some solace after he lost in the 200m dash, denying the son of former Olympian Isidro Sr. a rare five-gold harvest in secondary athletics.

Central Visayas' Lindley Fran Navaja, who ruled the 100m dash, won the 200m with a time of 22.4 seconds, three-tenths of a second faster than Del Prado. Central Luzon's Michael Calayo was third in 22.9.

Like Del Prado, Unso also collected four golds while Tabunda, who ruled the 1500m in 4:12.7, collared three.

NCR hauled seven golds out of the possible 16 on the final day of swimming with Jose Gio Palencio (50m freestyle), Thea Marie Caluma (girls' 50m free), and Fahad Alkhaldi (200m IM) clinching a gold each in the elementary division.

Alkhaldi, 12, nailed his sixth gold in the 200m IM with a winning time of 2:32.86. Emmanuel Pedron of Calabarzon pocketed the silver in 2:33.40 and Jovic Ventinilla finished third in 2:39.01.

Palencia, adjudged as the best swimmer in elementary boys, and Alkhaldi also led NCR to the 400m free relay gold by besting Western Visayas and Calabarzon with a clocking of 4:18.08, eclipsing the record 4:21.53 set by NCR in 2005 in Iloilo.

Hannah Dato, the top individual performer in secondary girls' swimming, struck with a gold in the 200m free before spearheading the Big City tankers to the 400m free relay gold in record fashion.

Dato teamed up with Sabrina Ingrid Ilustre, Winona Yu and Roanne Florence Yu in the 400m free to break the Palaro mark of 4:19.43 set last year by Calabarzon. NCR timed 4:15.59 to beat Western Visayas (4:26.07) and Cotabato (4:30.09).

Gian Daniel Berino, last year's most bemedalled athlete, also led his team in the secondary boys' 400m free relay as NCRclinched the boys and girls division title and the elementary boys plum.

Calabarzon's Banjo Borja topped the rankings for secondary boys after snaring the golds in the 200m IM and 100m breast. Borja ruled the 200m IM in 2:20.71 to topple Joshua Desamero (2:21.87) and Berino of NCR (2:22.70).

Borja clocked 1:09.21 in the 100m breast while Joseph Jamil Gloria of Western Visayas (1:10.40) and NCR's Kevin Lua (1:11.60) pocketed the silver and bronze, respectively.

Western Visayas somehow came to life on the accomplishment of the shoeless Vienna Mae Banebane, who clinched her third gold in the 200m dash for secondary girls, and Elena Camiring for her record-breaking feat in elementary girls javelin.

Banebane, who earlier captured golds in the 400m dash and 400m hurdles, clocked 26.2 seconds to topple Bicol's Noralyn Picaso (26.3) and 100m gold medalist Ruffa Bargola of NCR (26.5).

Camiring, 12, flung the metal spear to 39.63 meters to smash the record of Ilocandia's Stephanie Climatu (38.53 meters) last year in Koronadal City. Nor-Ain Andao of ARMM registered 35.81 for silver while Cordillera's Maria Crisanta Dangbis wound up third (33.21).