Prisaa Nat’l Games title in the bag for Region 7

Region VII (Central Visayas) maintained its hold of the top spot as it hauled down a total of 69 gold medals after the fourth day of competition in the Private School Athletic Association (Prisaa) National Games at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, the home team Central Visayas was way ahead in the medal standings with a 68-30-34 (gold-silver-bronze) tally.

While Region VII stayed on top, Region IV-A (Calabarzon) lost grip of its second-place standing as Region VI (Western Visayas) climbed from third place to second. Western Visayas has a tally of 35-30-33 while Calabarzon, the first-day leader, finished with a 28-23-32 record after the fourth day.

Leading the medal haul were Central Visayas’ boxers, who chipped in four gold medals.

University of Visayas’ (UV) Dan Lou Codilla, Southwestern University’s (SWU) Ian Refuela, Zoro Babel Alsola and Robert Etorma were the gold medalists for Region VII.

Codilla topped the flyweight division after beating Harmon Jay Valdo of the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) while Refuela won via Referee Stopped the Contest (RSC) in the opening round (2:06) against William Orendain Jr. of Region XII in the light flyweight division. Alsola topped the featherweight division after defeating Jestoni Autida of Region IX while Etorma won via RSC against CARAGA’s Jether Maligro in the light middleweight division.

Region VII pugs weren’t able to sweep the competition after Melvin Besinga and Robert Labanza lost to Region XI boxers in the light welterweight and lightweight divisions, respectively. They settled for bronze medals.

Central Visayas’ karatekas also harvested gold medals in the two-day competition at the Cebu Doctors’ University gym. Lynlie Narboada dominated the 55-kilogram kumite female category while Ann Marie Dela Riate won the women’s individual kata. Sam Orillo also topped the men’s individual kata.

Running queen Mary Joy Tabal of SWU also added a gold for Central Visayas as she topped the 10-kilometer race with a time of 40 minutes and 18.75 seconds.

FAVORITES

IN FINALS

Region VII still has a chance to pad its lead after some of its strong contenders made it to the finals in their respective fields.

Newly crowned Nestea Beach Volley national champions Mike Abria and Mark Anthony Fernandez of UV find themselves a win away from another title as they advanced to the finals after beating Region VI’s Michael Basa and John Mar Basinang, 23-25, 21-19, 15-10, at the SWU beach volley court

They will face a familiar foe in University of Mindanao-Tagum’s (UM-T) Daryl Kim Lapiz and Jeffy Amora of Region XI. UV and UM-T met in the semifinals of the National Nestea Beach Volley tournament in Boracay with the Cebuanos winning, 21-17, 16-21, 15-8.

Region VII’s men’s volleyball team also advanced to the finals after winning over Region VI, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16, at the University of San Carlos gymnasium. They will face Region IV-A in the finals. Central Visayas’ women’s volleyball team also arranged a final duel against Region XI.

Another strong contender for Region VII is its football squad manned by the University of San Carlos (USC) booters. They routed Davao, 1-0, at the Aboitiz Football Field to claim a final round berth. Central Visayas battles Cotabato in the finals.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS

Meanwhile, University of Cebu’s Ernesto Ybañez Jr. and University of Southern Philippines-Foundation’s Lorna Olarita were named Most Valuable Players in the track and field event.

Both finished with three gold medals each during the three-day competition at the CCSC.

Ybañez Jr. lorded the 100-meter, long jump and triple jumps events while Olarita dominated the 100-meter, 400-meter and 200-meter runs.

Ybañez also won a bronze medal in the 4×400-meter relay while Olarita also bagged two silver medals in the 4×400 and 4×100-meter relay competition.