MANILA, Philippines – Breanna Labadan put herself in position to reach the all-around final of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships as she ranks seventh through two apparatuses on Wednesday, May 31.

Putting her Europe training on display, the 16-year-old finished eighth in ball (28.2) and ninth in hoop (28.5) for an aggregate of 56.7 points to place seventh overall at the start of the tournament at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

She will look to formalize her finals entry by doing better in the clubs and ribbon events on Thursday, with the top 18 out of the 36 participants advancing.

“I’m quite satisfied. I’m very happy with what I did today. I believe that I worked quite hard for this. I feel like I deserve the place that I got and the scores that I got,” said Labadan.

Her seventh-place standing bodes well for Labadan in her bid to qualify for the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships.

Labadan, a bronze medalist in the Southeast Asian Games last year, is the first rhythmic gymnastics from the Philippines to compete in the world championships when she saw action in Sofia, Bulgaria in September.

Out of the 16 finalists in this Asian championships, the top eight will punch their tickets to the world championships in Valencia, Spain in August.

“I hope to keep that spot,” said Labadan. “I worked hard for all four apparatus. They’re quite even and I worked for them evenly.”

With hardly any surprise, reigning Asian all-around champion Takhmina Ikromova of Uzbekistan seized the top spot with 67.40 points as she ruled both the ball and hoop events with identical 33.7 scores.

The Kazakhstan pair of Elzhana Taniyeva (65.10) and Aibota Yertaikyzy (62.50) are running second and third, respectively.

Filipina bet Daniela dela Pisa sits at 33rd place after netting 23.75 in ball as she skipped the hoop – the event where she struck gold in the 2019 SEA Games.

Dela Pisa, though, can still make the top 18 if she does well in the clubs and ribbon on Thursday.

Trisha Mae Montifalcon wound up at 36th and last place with 20.15 points in the hoop, her lone event of the tournament.

Drawing over 200 participants from 20 countries, the Asian championships – hosted by the Philippines for the first time – will run until Saturday, June 3. – Rappler.com