Philippine Air Force capped its sweep of the Cobra Energy Drink Dragon Boat Regatta third leg with a come-from-behind victory over Philippine Marines in the Open 300-meter standard boat division at Manila Bay over the weekend.
Even without archrivals Army and Navy-Coast Guard, the Air Force paddlers found the competition tough against the Marines, needing a huge finishing kick in the last 20 meters to win in one minute and 1.04 seconds.
The Marines, who celebrated their first year as a squad just four days earlier, settled for runner-up honors, just a fraction of a second behind (1:01.85) while the PDRT Fireblades took third (1:03.40).
“We had to strategize well because we knew we could match speed with the Marines and needed to time our move when to strike,” said Air Force coach Sgt. Rommel Estrella, whose team finished second in the previous two legs.
Air Force ruled the women’s event with a cumulative time of 2:30.73, edging the Marines (2:31.53) and Blue Phoenix (2:32.57) in the competition that drew 44 teams.