Chantal Balani of Cebu Amateur Athletic Association (CAAA) re-established her claim as the country's track princess when she ruled the 100-m dash at the expense of rival Marestella Torres of the UAAP in the CHED National Games at the PhilSports Complex yesterday.
The 17-year-old Balani's golden run was a repeat of her stirring performance in the Milo Invitational Track and Field Championships last month where she ran away with the sprint doubles crown, including the 100-m dash victory over Torres.
"This is a big win for me because it showed that my victory last month wasn't fluke," said Balani, who tied the national girls' record of 11.7 seconds in the Patafa-sanctioned event.
The UAAP bets stamped their class in athletics as they ran away with two gold medals to become the day's winningest squad in the 2000 Commission on Higher Education (CHED) National Games in UP-Diliman.
Roselyn Hamero and Narcisa Atienza accounted for UAAP's two golds.
Hamero, a 21-year-old San Pedro, Laguna native who is taking up a management course at the Far Eastern U, ruled the women's discus throw event with a record hurl of 38.87 meters, shattering the meet's record of 34.20m.
Teammate Rosie Villarito also surpassed the old mark with a distance of 35.41 m for one of the two silver medals won in the second day by UAAP, while Carla Yson of Negros Occidental Provincial School Sports Cultural Education Association (NOPSSCEA) settled for bronze (33.76 meters).
Atienza topped the women's high jump by beating teammate Morena Gestiada. Both had identical jumps of 1.70 m but Atienza won the gold due to lesser attempts made.
Getiada settled for the silver while CAAA's Rosal Paculaba clinched the bronze with a jump of 1.60 m.
Sharing the spotlight with Hamero was Mercedita Manipol of the National Capital Region-Private School Athletic Association (NCR-PRISAA), who eclipsed the women's 5,000-m run record of 19.16.4 minutes with a time of 18:43.2 for the gold.
Flordeliza Cachero of Baguio Educational Athletic League (BEAL) finished second with a time of 19:35.2, while Mylene Causapin of UAAP came in at third with a time of 19:50.5. Still focus is on the Balani-Torres' brewing rivalry. - Joey Villar
The 17-year-old Balani, the sprint doubles winner of last month's Milo Invitational Track and Field Championships, topped the first heat of her favorite event in 12.2 seconds, while Torres, a three-gold medal winner in the Milo tilt, finished with the same time in the second heat to set up the much-awaited showdown between the country's top junior tracksters.
Also showing the way in athletics was Ernie Candelario of Iloilo Tertiary Sports Athletic Association (ITSAA), who broke the games' old mark of 9.10 after a first place finish in Heat 1 of the men's 400-m dash with a time of 48.2.
In men's basketball, NCR-PRISAA and State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) jumped onto the lead after pulling off contrasting victories in the second day of cage competitions.
NCR-PRISAA, represented by the Aric del Rosario-mentored University of Santo Tomas Tigers, made a fitting follow-up to its opening day 74-59 scuttling of Southern Tagalog Higher Education Sports Association (STHESA) with a 128-98 trampling of CHED Supervised School Athletic Association (CHESAA) while SCUAA's Polytechnic University of the Philippines rolled to its second straight triumph with a 65-59 escape win over the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
It was CHESSAA's second consecutive setback while NCAA's reigning care titlist Letran absorbed its first loss after scuttling Cagayan Valley Higher Education Sports Association (CAVAHESA), 102-64.
In the other cage result, NOPSSCEA notched its first win at the expense of CAVAHESA, 101-56.
UAAP's Far Eastern University, the association's reigning men's titlist, dumped its collegiate counterpart, Letran of NCAA, 25-15, 25-22. It was the Tamaraw's second win in a row following a 25-15, 25-13 rout of NCR-PRISAA, represented by UST, the other day.