Gatinga, Nabong nail 5th BP golds

Taguig’s wonder girl Gianeli Gatinga completed a sprints double with a victory in the 13-under 200-meter dash and matched the five-gold romp by Manila’s Vicente Nabong  yesterday in the rain-marred POC-PSC Batang Pinoy 2012 at Marikina Sports Center.

The lean, pony-tailed Gatinga, 12, raised her arms in triumph as she crossed the finish line in driving rain in 29 seconds flat to crown herself as the fastest girl of the Metro Manila leg of the sportsfest.

“I’m very happy because I made my parents so proud of me,” said Gatinga in Filipino. The Grade 7 student at St. Francis of Assisi in Bagong Bayan, Taguig,  had earlier topped the 100-meter dash, the long jump and powered Taguig to the golds in the 4X100m and 4X400m relays.

Her parents, both working at the Quezon City Hall, were at the stands as she beat Taguig teammate Daisy Salimbakod, who  grabbed the silver in 29.7 seconds.

Nabong, a member of back-to-back NCAA champion San Sebastian,  steered his team to victory in the 4X100 and 4X400 relays in the boys’ 15-under division.

The 14-year-old high school sophomore  also prevailed in the 5,000m, 1,500m, and 800m runs.

Nabong’s teammate Dexter Pascua struck gold in discus throw to claim his second in the meet. Pascua, who captured the shot put title last Tuesday, won with a heave of 24.75 meters.

Also coming up with golds for Manila were Angelica Datohan in girls’ 13-under 2,000 meters, John Louie Nilugao in boys’ 13-under 2,000m run, Christoper Canila in boys’ 15-under 400m hurdles, Juvilyn Perlas in girls’ 15-under 2,000m walk, Athena Bianca Alefante in girls’ 15-under triple jump and Wenie Carozca in girls’ 15-under javelin throw.