Ateneo de Davao spikers, cagers surge ahead

DAVAP CITY – Ateneo de Davao continued to flash awesome form in basketball and volleyball yesterday to close in on a pair of gold medals in the Mindanao Children’s Games at the University of Mindanao-Matina Gym here.

The Blue Knights dwarfed Notre Dame of Midsayap, 93-28, in basketball to complete a two-game sweep of their group and seal the first semifinal berth.

The Lady Knights, the best in the region, thumped UM, 25-12, 25-9, and then Davao Oriental, 25-12, 25-14, to lead Group A with four wins and advance to the crossover semis.

“The competition will be tougher in the medal rounds – that’s why we’re trying to go there with our morale up,” said coach Lorellei Samela, who steered DAVRAA to a Palarong Pambansa silver medal finish in elementary volleyball two years ago.

Over at the Tiongco grounds, Save Our Souls Children’s Village was held to a scoreless draw with South Point School, edged Moserrat, 2-1, and then smashed Pilar Elementary School, 9-0, to pace the first of the double-round elimination in football.

In table tennis, Balite Elementary School of Davao City and Corpus Christie of Cagayan de Oro City sent two teams each in the finals for a chance to fight it out for three gold medals in the event backed by Davao City Sports Council chief Peter Lavinia.

Balite’s Issa Lee Darlo and Marvin Ladera bashed Piedad Central’s Glaciel Ablanque and Lloyd Jay Villamor, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9, to barge into the mixed doubles finals with a twice-to-beat edge against Cagayan de Oro’s Nicole Buen and Serknight Beroya, a 12-10, 11-8, 11-7 winner over Ablanque and Villamor.

Balite’s Rasel Quibul and Baby Rose Lapis, for their part, edged Slum Improvement Resettlement School, 5-11, 11-2, 2-11, 11-8, 11-2, to likewise advance to the finals of the girls’ doubles that went with a twice-to-beat advantage for remaining unscathed.

Donic Patalinghog and Beroya provided Cagayan de Oro’s other finals slot in the boys doubles thanks to an 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5 win over Piedad Central’s Janno Carballo and John Russel Misal.

There, Patalinghog and Beroya need to beat the Julie Tabsing-coached Celso Cubio Jr. and Rey Erana, who downed Carballo and Erana, 8-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-4.

Table tennis event director Friendee Nuñez said all the finals are scheduled early today.

John Ray Batucan of Davao City, 2008 ASEAN age group chess championship double gold medalist, continued to pace more than 20 other players with perfect scores of two points in chess.

The Midsayap cagers, backstopped by displaced kids from conflict areas in North Cotabato, were simply dwarfed by the taller, heftier foes and settled for outside shots that didn’t hit their target.

Midsayap, headed by Notre Dame of Midsayap president Fr. Romeo Saniel, OMI, however, went home with their heads unbowed knowing that there are bigger battles ahead back home.