Reg 7 archer hits bull’s eye, region collars 4 more golds

Lingayen, Pangasinan — He says luck is just on his side. Lucky or not, this 15-year-old archer from Dumaguete City is simply making things work for Region 7.

Behind the brilliance of Karl Mari, Region 7 harvested four more gold medals, ending day four of the 2012 Palarong Pambansa with yet another productive performance.

Mari bagged two more gold medals yesterday, padding his medal haul to four—the most won so far by a Central Visayas athlete.

After winning the 30m and 40m events last Tuesday, Mari remained sharp yesterday and dominated the secondary boys Fita and 50m distances.

It was a one-two finish in the 50m event for Region 7 with Romeo Betache, also from Dumaguete City, winning silver. Theodore Vincent Cabral Jr. of the National Capital Region (NCR) settled for bronze.

Cabral exacted revenge in the 60m contest by scoring 314 points to win the gold, relegating Mari to a silver finish with 313 points.  Betache scored 307, good for bronze.

The 15-year-old Mari said he is surprised with the way he has been performing.

“I only had two weeks of practice. It’s my first Palaro and winning gold medals is something that I didn’t expect. Maybe I’m just lucky,” said Mari, cousin of Marie Crizabelle Merto, the multiple gold winner in last year’s Palaro held in Dapitan City. Merto did compete this year having been selected to the national Training Pool.

CV SPRINTER IS PALARO’S FASTEST

Central Visayas finally struck gold in athletics courtesy of Jonas Etulle, who ruled the 100m run.

Also making their presence felt was the elementary boys badminton team which capped the productive day for Region 7 with a gold finish in the team tie.

Ryan Jay Doromal came back from a first set loss to knock off his NCR counterpart, 8-21, 21-8, 21-11.

Carl Bernard Bejasa and James Ryana Navarette iced the win for Region 7 by winning the doubles event, 21-12, 21-14.

Although no official tally for the overall race has been released yet halfway through the competition, Region 7 delegation head Dr. Carmelita Dulangon expressed optimism that the region is capable of sustaining or improving its fourth place finish last year.

“The athletes are giving their best. They are doing the best that they can. We are praying that they’ll be given the strength to finish the competition,” said Dulangon, director of the Department of Education in Central Visayas.

Region 7 now has nine golds. The region won five golds last Tuesday and not seven as reported by another newspaper. (It was erroneously reported that Region 7 won multiple golds in the boys law tennis event. Team event is only good for one gold but with higher points compared to a gold won in an individual event.)

The elementary girls badminton team chipped in a silver in the team tie, while Jersell Cabatino and Mark Unabia donated one silver each in the high-jump and 100m hurdles events.

In swimming, Patrick Louie Birad bagged bronze in the elementary boys freestyle, while Anthony Linn Navarro, Cynthjune Goden, Michael Ichiro Kong and Khiet Ocampo came up with a bronze finish in the secondary boys 4×100 medley relay.