Cagayan de Oro cops overall title over Iligan

TUBOD, Lanao del Norte – Cagayan de Oro unleashed a late surge to overtake Iligan City yesterday and clinch the overall title at the close of the First Mindanao Friendship Games at the Mindanao Civic Center here.

Cagayan de Oro, which is bidding to host the meet’s second edition next year, claimed 18 of its total 29 gold medals in the last two days to leave behind swimming champion Iligan City.

Iligan City’s late collapse was due mainly to its lack of gold medal source in other events outside swimming, where it won 19 of its 23 gold medals on the feats of teenage sensation Genevie Natinga.

The 16-year-old Natinga, a Timuga, Iligan City native and a product of the Philippine Sports Commission’s annual Summer Camp, went five-for-five on the last day of swimming competitions to become the meet’s best performer with 13 gold and two silver medals.

Showing its might in table tennis, Cagayan de Oro swept all five of the gold medals at stake in the event on the same day it pulled off stunning victories in basketball and football.

Cagayan de Oro was actually second to Tangub City, which has a total of six gold medals, in athletics with five gold medals, four of them coming from Simon Bolivar (5,000-m run), Marlon Sabuero (200-m), Servando Namalata (triple jump) and the 4x100-m relay.

But the athletics’ centerpiece event, the century dash, eluded Tangub City and Cagayan de Oro after General Santos City’s Maritess Tigon and Lanao del Sur’s Darcy Tabaniag crowned themselves the fastest man and woman on the track.

Host Lanao del Norte had its share of glory in the final day after local lass Julieta Enriquez emerged as the Iron Woman with an emphatic performance in heptathlon.

Cagayan de Oro downed Butuan City in the basketball finals, 71-64, before trouncing Iligan City, 3-0, for the football gold in a pair of upset wins in this five-day event closed by host Gov. Imelda Dimaporo and PSC commissioner William "Butch" Ramirez.

Tagum, a chartered city of Davao del Norte, likewise had its share of last day glory after it raked in its only three gold medals, two from volleyball and one from sepak takraw.

Legendary tanker Jairullah Jaitullah’s cash-strapped and unattached four-man swim team from Davao City finished third overall with 13 gold, five silver and six bronze medals, the bulk coming from Norton Alamara.

The 22-year-old Alamara, third of the six Alamara siblings who grew up under the care of her teacher mother, gave Jaitullah’s squad eight of its total gold medal haul to become the men’s best performer.

In chess, Butuan City did what it failed to accomplish in basketball after National Master Ernesto Absin ruled the men’s chess event with a final round draw with silver medalist Jimmy Dano, another unattached player from Davao City. The bronze medal went to Iligan City’s Cecil Cuevas.

Rounding up the top 10 were Misamis Occidental, Sultan Kudarat’s Tacurong City, General Santos City, Zamboanga City, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental and Lanao del Sur.