Guarte, Bigyan rule 1500, 400m Joey Villar

ILAGAN CITY, Isabela, Philippines – Southeast Asian Games silver medalist Mervin Guarte dominated the 1500m run while Ryan Bigyan staved off up-and-coming Michael del Prado’s upset bid in the 400m at the close of the 2017 Ayala Phl National Open here yesterday.

Guarte bucked an early but strong challenge from Malaysian Ahmad Luth Hamizan and Sabah’s Jomond Papau as the Air Force mainstay poured it all out in the end to prevail in three minutes, 54.53 seconds.

Hamizan and Papau settled for silver and bronze with 3:56.59 and 4:05.62 clockings, respectively.

But the 24-year-old Guarte, who won a pair of silvers in the 800m and 1500m in the 2015 SEAG, failed to break the national record of 3:47.65 he himself posted in the SEAG edition in Indonesia six years ago.

“I knew it’s going to be a difficult race because there are foreign entries. But I prepared hard for this,” said Guarte.

Marco Vilog, who topped the 3000m steeplechase, helped Guarte set the pace in the early going but quit after hurting a toe.

“I decided to help my teammate (Guarte) by pacing him in the first three laps,” said Vilog.

Bigyan, member of the country’s 4x400m relay squad that bagged the silver in the Singapore Games, took the 400m gold in 48.39 seconds but shared the spotlight with Del Prado, a son of former Gintong Alay star Isidro Sr., who snatched the silver in 48.47 seconds.

What made Del Prado’s effort doubly impressive was that he humbled national team mainstays Edgardo Alejan Jr., Archand Bagsit and Joan Caido, members of the Bigyan-led squad that finished second in Singapore, for the silver.

Alejan settled for bronze in the 1500m in 48.60.

“He’s a promising talent, he’s not yet in the national squad but he beat the Phl squad mainstays,” said national team coach Jojo Posadas, referring to Del Prado.

“Hopefully, he’ll make the team this year,” he added.

Janry Ubas, a SEAG decathlon bronze medal winner who emerged the surprise long jump winner in Day One, went for the high jump gold but ended up with a bronze with a 2.01m leap.

Sri Lanka’s Manjula Kumara Wijesekara won the gold with a 2.13m jump while Meralco’s Manuel Lasangue Jr. took the bronze with 2.01m.

Koronadal City’s Marjun Sulleza claimed the boys’ 400m hurdles gold in 55.39, beating Mapua’s Aaron Vincent Merin and San Sebastian’s Lorenz Sediarin, who checked in with 56.53 and 56.71, respectively.

Michelle Palmares of Iligan also stamped her class in the women’s 400-m hurdles in 1:05.97 with University of Baguio’s Lilia Rosa Yatar and Lyka Casta taking the silver and bronze with 1:12.37 and 1:20.76 clocking, respectively.