Gat confident of ruling Garcia airsoft

CEBU, Philippines - Having won three of the five legs staged, the Guadalupe Airsoft Team (GAT) is raring to snatch the overall championship when the final leg of the inaugural Governor Gwen Garcia Airsoft Competition Championships fires off tomorrow at the Prime Orion Properties beside Cebu Doctors’ University in Mandaue City.

The GAT shooters reigned supreme in Mandaue, San Remigio and Argao, which was the last qualifying phase.

Those victories, however, were not assurance for GAT to bag the coveted title as it’s going to be back to stratch in the final leg this weekend.

The members of the GAT squad though are optimistic on their chances.

“On statistical basis, we are pretty much confident that we will claim the overall crown because we have a very strong defense. Also, the persons we will assign through the different areas are competent enough to be successful in the mission that we will tackle,” said GAT spokesperson and assistant team leader Mel Piedad.

“We have trust in each of our players capability to carry out our mission fast and easy,” added GAT team leader Dionnie “Teban” Baylon,

GAT, which existed since 1995 with 15 members, practice regularly even if there are no tournaments, making them a force to reckon with in every competition they join. During matches, they have pre and post game analysis for them to assess their strong and weak points.

“Airsoft is not only a sport for us, it is an outlet where we can bond together because since this group started, we treat all of us as brothers and nobody could take that away from us,” said mission specialist Cliff de la Cruz.

The two-day combat features 16 teams that qualified from the previous five legs held in Mandaue, Moalboal, Balamban, San Remigio and Argao.

The rest of the entries are the Mandaue Airsoft Group (MAG), Crack Legion, Special Airsoft Action Team (SAAT), Hammerhead, Philippine Airsoft Club of Mactan (PACMAN), Globus-Petron Alliance, Southern Cebu Airsoft Recon (SCAR), Toledo Airsoft Group (TAG), Extreme Airsoft Games Enthusiast (X-Age), Bogo Team Cobra (BTC), Tango Down, Badian Airsoft Team (BAT), West Rasmussen Team (WRT), Alex Binghay Commando (ASB Commando) and Team Airsoft San Carlos (TASC), the lone out-of-town participant from Negros Occidental.

Aside from the major awards, special citations will also be given away such as the Best Stealth Operative, Best in Sportsmanship, Best in CQB, and Best in Military Load-Out.

The event is supported by QBC Sporting Supply, San Miguel Inc., ABN Dream Works, Sulpicio Lines, VECO, Habagat Outdoor Equipment, Pacific Audio Video Inc., Justins Hobby Depot, Audio One, Pyroworks, GGC Service Inc., Sheen Trade, RC Ramos Construction, Cebu RC Heli Club, and JCI-Metro Cebu. - THE FREEMAN