BORACAY—Bugsay Boracay won the premier 300-meter Open standard class by the slimmest of margins even as Triton Team A nailed a third gold Saturday in the Cobra PDBF International Club Crew Challenge here.
Organizers had to turn to a photo of the finish before declaring Bugsay the winner over another homegrown team American Tourister-Gaud Boracay with a time of one minute 4.80 seconds. Gaud was second in 1:05.08.
Onslaught Racing Dragons of Philippine Dragon Boat Federation secretary general Pinky Castillo finished third in 1:06.20, while Triton Dragon Boat Racing timed 1:11.14 to wind up fourth.
Triton Team A, which is assured of donning the Philippine colors in the July Club Crew World Championships in Hong Kong, ruled the 300m women’s small boat competition after topping the 2,000-meter women’s and mixed events Friday.
De La Salle University seized the gold in the 300m mixed standard while Gaud atoned for its narrow loss in the Open standard class by nailing the 300m Open small boat.
Triton A clocked 1:20.36 in the 300m women’s small boat, beating Sydney Fire Dragons which timed 1:21.85. Triton B (1:27.02) placed third and DLSU (1:27.61) was fourth.
La Salle prevailed in the 300m mixed standard in 1:07.84, nipping Triton A, which clocked 1:08.92. Onslaught and Sydney Fire Dragons placed third and fourth with 1:10.39 and 1:11.30 respectively.
Gaud claimed the gold in the 300m Open small boat in 1:10.32 followed by Sydney Fire Dragons (1:12.16), Onslaught (1:12.35) and Bugsay (1:12.54).
The short races, where the Cobra PDBF paddlers won four of their five golds in the World Championships last year in Tampa Bay, Florida, provided more excitement as crews fought to close finishes even during the heats.