RP dragons spew fire in La Mesa Dam

The Philippines sustained its momentum on the waters of La Mesa Dam as its Dragon Boat teams swept three gold medals in the first day of competition in the traditional boat race, ruling the men’s 10-a-side (1000m race), the women’s 10-a-side (1000m ) and the men’s 20-a-side events in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games yesterday.

The Filipinos opened the three-gold splurge by dominating the 1000m with a time 3:55.47, beating Indonesia ( 3:57.94) and Myanmar (4:06.22).

Taking the cue from their male counterparts, the 10-woman crew topped their side of the event by leading from start to finish, posting a winning time of 4:21.72, well ahead of second place Myanmar (4:24.21) and Indonesia (4:33.10).

The sturdy Filipinos then outclassed the Indonesians in the 20-a-side 1000m, rallying in the stretch to win by three-tenths of a second in the most exciting race in the day. The RP rowers clocked 3:37.16, the Indons 3:37.47 and Myanmar 3:38.62.

The Indons pulled away early and looked poised to snatch the victory until the Nationals made their move in the final 250 meters. They drew level approaching the 150-meter mark, the Indonesians took a slim lead anew until the locals poured it on in the last five meters and nosed out their rivals at the finish, drawing cheers from the crowd.

With the win the male squad surpassed its one-gold, one silver feat in the 2003 SEAG Games in Vietnam while the women notched their first gold since taking the bronze in 1999 in Brunei.