Laguna games’ best performer

STA CRUZ, Laguna — Laguna's crack delegation, enjoying homecourt advantage and full support of the provincial government, clinched overall honors as the Batang Pinoy Games ended here yesterday with a sad note of farewell from its governor, Joey Lina.

Getting the fruits of its year-long labor, the host team bagged a total of 32 gold medals, 17 silvers and 22 bronzes at presstime to successfully defend the overall title it won two years back in Bacolod City.

Laguna got the most number of gold medals in swimming with 10, thanks to the spearheading of triple gold medal winners Lambert Guiriba and Bea Del Mundo. Laguna won 15 gold medals in 1999.

While it wavered in the pool events, no thanks to Manila’s resurgence, Laguna’s cycling team simply dominated its field as it harvested seven of the nine gold medals available.

It also found a goldmine in the centerpiece athletics event where it hauled down six gold medals, five of them from fast-rising Aiza Cometa. Laguna failed to win a single medal in the same event two years ago.

Lina, a known supporter of newly-installed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, bid goodbye yesterday and took the time to congratulate his team for running away with the overall title twice in a row.

He will be sworn in today as Secretary for the Interior and Local Government.

Philippine Sports Commission chairman Carlos Tuason, who has yet to get his re-appointment papers from Malacanang, was also present during the closing rites at the San Luis RECS Village here.

Like Lina, Tuason also congratulated the medal winners as well as the non-winners and promised to press for the retention of this meet, which is likely to be shelved due to the change of leadership in the PSC.

"I would like to thank all the participants, winners or non-winners, for their participation as well as their parents and coaches who have helped in making this event a success," said Tuason.

"As a pledge to the youth, I promise to press for the retention of Batang Pinoy," he added.

A distant second was Muntinlupa City, which moved from 1999’s third placer to second this year after a total gold-silver-bronze medal harvest of 26-12-15.

Thirteen of Muntinlupa’s total number of gold medals came in the gymnastics competition, where it captured 20 of the 24 gold medals available.

Manila, which bagged nine in the pool, finished at third place with a medal count of 11-6-7.

Laguna’s feat earned them P300,000 worth of sports equipment courtesy of the Philippine Sports Commission while Muntinlupa and Manila will receive P200,000 and P100,000, respectively.

As this developed, Banjo Borja of Laguna and Carla Gonzales of Makati, Gonzales won three gold meals from the 6-and-under girls’ 50-m backstroke, 100-m freestyle and 50-m breststroke where she clocked 48.37 to shatter the old mark of 57.72 se by Paulo Abigael Vega of Cebu City.

In boxing, Misamis Oriental, under the tutelae of veteran internationalists Robert Jalnaiz, dethroned Cebu City after ending up with a gold and two silver medals.

Alberto Yap turned back Davao City’s Carlito Quiapo, 27-21, to clinch Misamis Oriental’s lone gold in the light-cottonweight (28-kilo). Providing the team’s two silvers were Milan Melendo and Jun Ray del Puerto.

While Cometa became the most be-medalled athlete with five, Tyrone Ng of Albay became the winningest in the boys‘ side with two gold medals and three silvers.

Muntinlupa’s Charmaine Dolar was the gymnastics event’s biggest winner with a three-gold haul.

Over 7,000 delegates in 74 local government units participated in this event sponsored by the Philippine Tourism Authority, Lactum Choco and STI.

Meanwhile, tension arose in karatedo when deposed Philippine Karatedo Federation head Pochollo Veguillas and former Philippine Olympic Committee president Cristy Ramos broke into the meeting of the PKFF officials handling the event at the Sta. Cruz Elementary School.

Veguillas and Ramos allegedly interfered with the ongoings of the seminar and meeting conducted by national coach David Lay, a vital part of the ouster of the two.

Veguillas and Ramos pointed out that their Association for the Advancement of Karatedo (AAK) has the right to join such meetings but PFK secretary-general Joey Veguillas contradicted it by saying that the two are no longer connected with the PKF.