Malabon, Pasig tankers share BP spotlight

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PUERTO PRINCESA. — She bagged a pair of gold medals and silvers plus a bronze a year ago but Sophia Rose Garra of Malabon felt she could have done better.

With this thought in mind, Garra swam to her third straight victory in the Batang Pinoy National Championships Monday and shared the spotlight with fellow tanker Arveen Naeem Taguinota of Pasig at the Ramon V. Mitra Sports Complex pool here.

After bagging a pair of golds each on opening day, Taguinota and Garra added their third mints, ruling the boys and girls 12 to 13-year-old 200-meter backstroke event handily in two minutes and 19.88 seconds and 2:30.00, respectively, in the grassroots competition organized by the Philippine Sports Commission.

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Also sharing the swimming spotlight was Quezon City’s Jaime Uaandor Maniago, who ruled the boys 16-17-year-old 100-meter breaststroke in 1:06.78, eclipsing the previous mark of 1:07.066 set by Pasig’s Morie Pabalan in the 2023 Manila edition of the meet.

Silver medalist Joaquin Taguinod of Santiago, Isabela also surpassed the old mark (1:07.37) in the age group sports showcase backed by the Puerto Princesa City government led by Mayor Lucilo Bayron, Pocari Sweat and Summit Mineral Water.

“We’d rather have Arveen focus on his races because we are aiming for a sweep of his five individual events and two relays,” said Pasig swimming program director and two-time Olympian Jessie Khing Lacuna on behalf of his prized ward.

A protege of Sydney Olympic Games veteran Jenny Guerrero who now acts as her personal coach, Garra is also keen on being the competition’s outstanding swimmer in her age-group.

“I was not too happy with my last performance in the Batang Pinoy so my aim is to sweep all of my five individual events to fulfill my goal of being the best swimmer in my age group,” said the Grade 6 La Salle-Araneta student.

Just adjacent to the RVM track oval, Quezon City’s Gavin Moses Ti and Pasig’s Zara Mae Chua achieved milestones of their own, sweeping the boys and girls 14 to 15-year-old box obstacle course as the discipline made its debut in the age group sportsfest.

Ti, who was drawn to the sport to overcome his slight attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, needed just one run to blitz the 12 obstacles, capped by climbing a 16-foot rope to ring the bell, in an eye-popping time of 54.49 seconds.

Chua was just as dominant in topping the girls’ division, leading a 1-2 finish for Pasig in 1:15.47 while teammate Sara Yu Prudente settled for runner-up honors (1:23.46).

“I feel proud and very relaxed because I could feel the pressure while I was doing my runs,” said Ti, who emerged tops in the recent Japan OCR 100 National Championships in Shinagawa, Japan with a time of 27.40 seconds.

“I am very thankful for my coaches in trying to do my best, and of course, to God as well,” said Chua, who was second in the women’s division of the same meet and a renewed Christian like Ti.

Quezon City’s Aristen Dormitorio, younger sister of mountain bike veteran Ariana Dormitorio, copped the gold in the girls’ 12-13 division while Nathaniel Dalanao was tops in the boys’ 12-13 class.

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