DAVAO DEL NORTE—The hosts finally broke into the gold medal column with rousing twin victories in team tennis but there was no stopping the National Capital Region gold machine from churning out more victories Wednesday in the 2015 Palarong Pambansa here.
The Big City athletes scooped up two more gold medals in swimming, including a record-breaking feat from their elementary boys’ 200-meter medley relay team composed of Seth Isaak Martin, Charles Johnuell Arceo, Ian Timothy Go and Sean Gabriel Cruz.
NCR’s gold medal count now stood at 21 on top of 21 silvers and 12 bronzes. Calabarzon, buoyed by its success in swimming, was the closest pursuer with a 15-9-15 gold-silver-bronze tally, while Western Visayas gained in athletics to keep third spot with a 13-9-13 count.
Cordillera Administrative Region was fourth with 11-12-4, Socsksargen fifth (6-13-10) and Central Visayas sixth (6-4-7).
Davao Region’s Danna Mariella Abad, Nicole Ann Bautista, Shaira Hope Rivera, Rachel Patricia Velez snared the secondary girls’ team tennis title, a feat duplicated by the hosts’ secondary boys’ squad of Christian Fel Lopez, Jaffary Cariga, Jomari Justin Guira and Elwin Centillas.
“They have brought us honor and pride,” said Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario of the tennis teams. He also exhorted the rest of the Davao Region delegation to step up in the final four days.
Central Luzon managed to grab a piece of the spotlight when triple jumper Martin James Esteban established the first new standard in athletics in this year’s edition.
Esteban, an incoming college freshman at Angeles University Foundation, cleared 15.01 meters to rule the secondary boys’ triple jump and improve the 14.44m mark of Mark Harry Diones of Bicol Region in 2010.
It was actually a redemption for Esteban, the long jump defending champion who lost the gold to Jerry Belisbestre of Western Visayas last Monday.
Metro Manila captured the gold in the elementary boys’ 200 medley relay in two minutes and 5.04 seconds that bettered the 2:06.02 by another NCR squad last year in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.
The elementary girls’ 200m medley relay squad was made up of Yvoria Rosales, Tara Kenisha Uy, Camille Lauren Buico and Kara Mendoza.
Calabarzon also swept the two medley relay golds in the secondary division with the girls’ team of Nicole Meah Pamintuan, Bela Louise Magtibay, Suzanne Vernon Himor and Regina Maria Paz Castrillo setting a new mark of 2:08.41 to improve the 2:09.09 record of NCR in 2012.
The Calabarzon secondary boys’ medley relay team was composed Arian Neil Puyo, Jasper Casino, John Gurango and Jose Marie Sebastian Arcilla.
NCR nailed two more golds in gymnastics with Kalzen dela Serna prevailing in the secondary girls’ women’s artistic individual all-around before combining with Ninna Frances Azurin and Rukimi Dasi Guevarra to clinch the team gold.
Western Visayas struck in athletics through Ezel Divinagracia in secondary girls’ 400-meter hurdles, Alexis Soqueno in secondary boys’ 400 hurdles and Matt Atanas, who added the elementary boys’ high jump gold to his shot put triumph last Sunday.