West Visayas State U’s Peter Molina rules men’s 200m sprint in thrilling finish at ROTC Games

Peter Molina wins gold in the men’s 200m in the ROTC Games at Iloilo Sports Complex. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines-Sprinter Peter Molina ruled the men’s 200 meters by a hairline that kicked off the athletics competition in the 2023 Philippine ROTC Games Visayas qualifying leg at Iloilo Sports Complex.

The 20-year-old Physical Education major from West Visayas State University clocked 23.5 seconds, narrowly beating David Malagat of the Philippine Army’s Grave Services Unit and Dexter Puelo of Central Philippine University who both timed 23.6 seconds.

Piepet Prebillo of Filemar Christian University-Roxas City later joined Molina on the podium by topping the women’s 200m in the first edition of the Games featuring some of the finest cadet athletes at the tertiary level.

Prebillo, an incoming criminology sophomore, got off to a good start, maintained her pace throughout and crossed the line in 28 seconds to subdue Carla Lucero of Capiz State University (28.4 seconds) and Eden Cornelio of West Visayas State University (28.5).

Meanwhile, University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos swept both races in the 4x100m with John Lloyd Moreno, David Paul Balagat, Christian Sericon and Romeo Constancio claiming the men’s gold medal in 47.6 seconds.

The UNO-R quartet of Jearel Talaver, Clara Largaista and siblings Angelica and Marla Jean Bacaro clocked 57.7 seconds in the women’s finals, downing Iloilo Science and Technology University (1:02.9) and WVSU (1:03.4).

In women’s volleyball, Leyte Colleges (LTC) recovered from a sluggish start and overcame Salazar Colleges of Science and Institute of Technology (SCSIT), 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-16, to advance to the semifinals.

Looking invincible in the first two games with straight-set victories, the Tacloban spikers were caught off guard by the Cebuana cadets who got off to an inspiring start spearheaded by Ronamie Capuras.

Leyte weathered some anxious moments in the ensuing sets with Sig Dacillo carrying the fight for the squad which remained unbeaten in three games and moved one win away from earning a ticket to the national finals set in October.

For the second straight game, Dacillo topscored for LTC with 13 points. Capuras, on the other hand, registered a game-high 16 points in a losing cause.