Iloilo City— The Boracay Dragons representing the Philippines won the silver medal for the second straight time in the world beach flying disc competition in Italy over the weekend.
The 14-member team finished second behind the United States in the Open Division of the 3rd World Championships of Beach Ultimate held at the Getur Beach Sports Complex in Lignano Sabbiadoro in Italy from Aug. 21 to 27, according to the tournament’s website (https://www.wcbu2011.org).
Beach Ultimate is a flying disc team sport played by teams composed of five players. The game’s objective is for the players to bring the disc to the opponent’s end of the field by throwing the disc to teammates.
The Boracay Dragons won the second place after beating their opponents in three rounds in the 18-team division. They also got the silver medal in the 2007 world championship in Brazil.
The Philippine team won over Canada (10-9) in the quarterfinals and Italy (14-4) in the semifinals before bowing to the United States in the championship (9-13). The team played a total of 11 games with eight wins and three losses.
The Boracay Dragons are composed of Boracay residents and migrants who are also active in dragon boat racing, volleyball and other sports. Some worked in various establishments on the island while others are restaurant and resort owners.
The team that played in Italy included Ben Yap, Boboy Famorcan, Clyde Sullano, Datu Sumndad, Hendrix Maming, James Yap, Jason Lopez, Jeffrey Rodriquez, Joebert Buenaventura, Jude Lee, Karen Cabrera, Kristian Guerrero, Panoy Delos Santos and Wendell Simbulan.
The Boracay Dragons are the eight-time defending champion of the Boracay Open from 2004 to 2011. They also won the 1st Asian Championships of Beach Ultimate held in Boracay on October 28-31, 2009 and the Singapore Beach Ultimate Tournament held on November 8-9, 2008. /inquirer