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MANILA, Philippines – Western Visayas notched its highest overall finish in the Palarong Pambansa in a decade on the back of its sensational showing in athletics.
Krisha Aguillon, Mico Villaran, Airex Gabriel Villanueva, and John Mark Pagdato shared the spotlight as Western Visayas won over one-third of its gold haul in athletics to finish behind defending champion National Capital Region (NCR) in the medal table.
Pocketing 24 mints in athletics, Western Visayas won 60 golds in total to secure second place for the first time since 2013 after settling for third overall in the past eight editions.
Villaran of Bacolod City enjoyed a stellar Palarong Pambansa debut as he bagged four golds and one silver in the secondary boys’ division.
The product of Romanito Maravilla National High School ruled the 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles, and 200m run, and helped Reezy John de Asis, Kent Paul Burdan, and Earl Kieth Servano top the 4x100m relay.
“I cannot believe that I won all of these medals in the Palarong Pambansa. Winning four golds in the Palaro will be memorable for my entire life,” said Villaran in Filipino.
Another Romanito Maravilla National High School ace stood out, with Airex Gabriel Villanueva capturing two golds and setting a new Palarong Pambansa record.
Villanueva recorded 42.86m in the secondary boys’ discus throw to break the previous mark of 42.67m set by Ed Deliña of Central Luzon in 2018 and also reigned in the shot put event.
“I’m just inspired. I put all my focus in the games, nothing else,” said Villanueva, who thanked coach Miguel Arca for guiding him and Villaran.
The Palarong Pambansa sprint queen also came from Western Visayas as Aguillon left the competition in the dust in the secondary girls’ 100m and 200m events.
Aguillon of Bacolod Tay Tung High School sustained her excellence from the elementary level after nailing two golds and one silver in 2018 before the pandemic put her Palarong Pambansa career on hold.
“There were a lot of challenges but I’m so happy that I managed to overcome them,” said Aguillon.
Meanwhile, Pagdato led the charge for Western Visayas in the elementary level with four golds as he topped the boys’ 200m and 400m runs and played a key role in winning the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
Western Visayas’ other multiple gold winners included Winnie John Paclibar, Jumel Dichosa, and Christian Hubag in the elementary boys’ division, and Ma. Jerlyn Ariego and Karen Bala-an in the elementary girls’ class.
“The No. 1 secret is training,” said Western Visayas coach Raymund Steil delos Reyes. “Do not invest during competition but invest in training.” – Rappler.com
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