Army paddlers rule dragon boat regatta

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Army returned to the Cobra Energy Drink Dragon Boat Regatta with a flourish, handily winning the Open 300-meter standard boat race in the fourth and final leg of the series at the Manila Bay over in Manila last weekend.

The Army paddlers, who missed the third leg last September due to rescue and relief work, made their move in the last 50 meters to win pulling away in one minute, 7.55 seconds in the event organized by the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation.

Philippine Navy took runner-up honors in 1:11.70 while Dragons Republic, a club formed only this year, finished third in 1:12.38 in the event sponsored by Cobra, the country’s leading energy drink, and backed by the Manila Tourism and Cultural Affairs Bureau.

“We missed the third leg because duty comes first. But we are glad to return and win the final leg,” said team captain Sgt. Usman Anterola, of the squad that swept all of the three Open competitions this year.

Anterola added that 15 of their members were part of the Cobra-PDBF squad that captured two golds, one silver and one bronze in the IDBF World Cup, the Olympics of dragon boat rowing, in Fuzhou, China last June.

The women’s 300-meter small boat contest featured four new boats jointly acquired by Cobra and PDBF with the Navy bets topping the event in 1:34.83. Blue Phoenix came in second in 1:35.86 while Onslaught timed 1:36.12 for third.

Philippine Coast Guard ruled the mixed 300-meter standard race with 1:13.28 clocking, slipping past Navy, which had a 1:13.61. Alab Sagwan Pilipinas placed third in 1:14.52 in the season-ending competition that drew another huge field of 41 entries and over 300 participants.

Onslaught Racing Dragons garnered 560 points in the four-leg regatta to capture the Open overall championship, Triton A tallied 320 points to bag the Women’s overall crown while Triton A secured the Mixed title with 530 points.

“We would like to thank PDBF and participants for another successful year of our series, which just keeps on growing and has become a permanent  and much-awaited fixture on the local dragon boat scene,” said Cobra Brand assistant Jen Inumerable.

PDBF president Marcia Cristobal thanked Cobra for the new vessels “that underscores the company’s long-term commitment to the sport. This development is another highlight in what has been a good year for the PDBF and dragon boat rowing both locally and internationally.”

Highlights of the event will be aired on Saturday at Sports Unlimited on Channel 23.