"TEAM YOLANDA" STRIKES GOLDS, NCR EMERGES CHAMPION AS PALARO 2014 CLOSES
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 12 May 2014
STA. CRUZ, Laguna - Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association (EVRAA) was called here Team Yolanda. During the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Palarong Pambansa, our delegation displayed a banner stating "We have survived. Thank you for all your help."
Region 8 placed a decent 14th out of 17 delegations, garnering 4 golds, 8 silvers and 8 bronzes for a total of 20 medals. It bested MIMAROPA with 4-5-11 (15th), ARRMM 1-1-4 (16th) and Zamboanga Peninsula 0-5-10 (17th).
All the four golds were won in the secondary girls' athletics, courtesy of the athletes from the Leyte Sports Academy. Leah Joan Creer spearheaded the gold rush with victories in the 200 meters and 400 meters, while anchoring the 4x400m relay to first place. Creer teamed with Karen Janario, Faiza Jean Lenton and Gemmalyn Pino.
Melissa Escoton won the 100m hurdles and a bronze in the 400m hurdles for Region 8. Creer also won the silver medal in the century dash.
The EVRAA relay team also finished first in the 4x100m relay, but was disqualified due to an illegal baton pass which was done in the wrong lane. If it won the gold in the 4x100m relay, Eastern Visayas would have emerged the champion in the secondary girls athletics. But the EVRAA athletics team went around the oval in a victory lap feeling themselves as champions, amidst the biggest calamity in world history. They became the darling of the games.
After Yolanda struck, the team trained for two months, spending Christmas and New Year at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City courtesy of the Philippine Sports Commissioner Jolly Gomez.
The EVRAA meet was cancelled last January when the divisions were still languishing in pain and destruction. Athletes were just selected based on the performances of the respective events last year.
Meanwhile, SOCKSARGEN, the region of WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, emerged as boxing champion with two golds courtesy of Christian Pitt in the light paperweight division and Crizsander Laurente in the pinweight division. Other gold medalists were Central Visayas? Lloyd Antoque (light mosquitoweight), Western Visayas? Neil Cyril Basillote (mosquitoweight), and NCR?s Jaye Arre Arcilla (light flyweight).
Elementary boys' boxing was scrapped following the death of a boxer during the Central Luzon Regional Athletic Association meet.
National Capital Region retained supremacy of the annual sporting event emerging again as overall champion with 107 gold, 64 silver, and 56 bronze medals. Host CALABARZON was second with 38 golds, 51 silvers and 51 bronzes. Third was Western Visayas 32-33-38, fourth Central Visayas 24-27-41, fifth CAR 24-11-12, sixth Northern Mindanao 21-21-31, seventh SOCKSARGEN 15-17-30, eighth Davao Region 10-20-21, ninth Bicol Region 9-6-22, and tenth Central Luzon 8-11-22.
Eleventh was Ilocos Region 8-9-14, twelfth CARAGA Region 5-8-9, thirteenth Cagayan Valley 4-13-11, and fourteenth EVRAA 4-8-8.
The very successful staging of the Palarong Pambansa closed at the Laguna Sports Complex. SOCKSARGEN bidded for next year's games which will be held in Mindanao.
Photo by DepEd showing the EVRAA delegation during the Palaro opening ceremony.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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