Coast Guard shocks Dragonboat top seeds

TAGBILARAN STRAIT, Bohol, Philippines   â€“ They came in under the radar, and blew the competition out of the water.

Fourth-seeded Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) exploded through the competition, winning four of nine gold medals at stake in the second Cobra-PDBF International Club Crew Challenge “Battle of Champions” here.

Coast Guard humbled the fancied Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Lake Buhi, shaking off constant strong finishing kicks by all comers. Lake Buhi, composed mainly of fishermen and women, put out another strong showing by stroking to three golds while Army took the remaining two.

With the historic Dauis church built around a miraculous well as its background, Coast Guard struck hardest in the sprint events, fending off Navy for gold in the women’s 200-meter small boat sprints. The previous champions of this event, the Triton dragonistas, landed in third. In the 200-meter mixed standard boat sprints, Coast Guard struck again, this time slipping ahead of a surprisingly feisty Lake Buhi crew that raced them to the finish. Lake Buhi’s women had not competed for some time due to financial constraints, but their strong presence in the competition further raised the standards of the ladies’ division. Navy came in third.

In the 500-meter mixed standard boat middle distance event, the Coast Guard once again stamped its class. Navy, towed by their male internationalists, gave them a good scare, claiming the silver, while Triton B took the bronze. 

The second day’s 500-meter women’s small boat middle distance event was also Coast Guard’s to rule. Triton, favored to figure well in the women’s events, suddenly found themselves beleaguered with the sudden hospitalization of one of their internationalists, Ivory Ablig.

Ablig was on her way to attend the managers’ meeting when she collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital. With this development, Coast Guard coasted to victory, followed by Triton A and Triton B.

Lake Buhi, meanwhile, had been dominating the long-distance events, displaying superior stamina in ruling the 2,000-meter open long distance event.

Taking the silver was Army, while Navy completed the winners’ row with the bronze. Despite being a long distance event, the race provided a portent of things to come, as the three heavyweights immediately clashed paddles for the crown.

The calm waters of the breathtaking strait made for fast times and close events. Even local Bohol teams and students of Fr. Saturnino Urios in University of Caraga region were strong competitors despite their inexperience.

Lake Buhi followed this up with a second gold in the 2,000-meter mixed long distance event. They were followed by the Coast Guard, while the Navy took the bronze, which would become a familiar refrain. Lake Buhi’s ladies were the pleasant surprise of the event, upending their more athletic counterparts in the armed forces.

In the last race of the day, the 500-meter open standard boat middle distance event, the anticipated joust between Army, Navy and Lake Buhi proved to be another point of great excitement. And indeed, the crowd at the staging area roared as the three fought for the lead every inch of the way to the finish. Lake Buhi took advantage of a fast start, then staved off strong challenge finishing kicks by both Army and Navy in the homestretch.

“Our aim was simple, to unify the sport, and we are very happy everyone participated,” said organizer Maj. Gen. Charly Holganza (ret.). â€œWe didn’t have that much time to prepare, but we’re glad the community came together and we were able to pull it off with everyone’s help. The athletes just wanted to paddle.”

Despite only coming together in the last four months, the second Cobra-PDBF International Club Crew Challenge spearheaded by Tapok Tapok Bol-Anon pulled in 532 paddlers, and drew sponsorship from Cobra, Smart, Philex Mining, Cetaphil, the Department of Tourism, the Province of Bohol, and many civic organizations in the province.