Friday, April 25, 2008 Three gold haul By Lynde Salgados
PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan -- Northern Mindanao is within one gold away from duplicating its four-gold haul last year in Koronadal Palaro.
Halfway of the weeklong 2008 Palarong Pambansa meet here, Northern Mindanao took two more golds in table tennis and arnis Thursday, a day after Edward Paul Paler's triumphant finish in secondary boys shotput.
Northern Mindanao Regional Athletic Association officials expressed optimism the gold flow will not stop especially in the ongoing taekwondo competition that holds a big promise for Region 10's cause.
"If our well-trained wards will live up to expectations, I guess it's not a remote possibility for us to harvest a dozen of golds in elementary and secondary rivalries," said Ernesto Juan Mendoza, who along with fellow RP team mainstay JR Rivero, helps out veteran coach George Arsenal in preparing the CDO-groomed taekwondo jins still trading kicks, as of Thursday, with the country's best at the jampacked Palawan State University gymnasium.
Like their diminutive mentor, Hermelo Dalman, the foursome of Christian Palmero, Leonel Bustamante and the Benoya siblings--Sergio and Serknight--were so cute in their presence would hardly be noticed by anyone else.
But they're quite visible in almost all corners of the Dominican sisters-run Holy Trinity College that serves as living quarters of the 500-strong NMRAA delegation.
Together the four of them would take a bathe and line up for a quick chance to relieve at a cramped CR. Oftentimes, they would literally turn the school corridor and hallways into an unholy field for track race and play basketball when opportunity presents. So small everyone else would love to call the four naughty kids with funny names such as the "Going Bulilit" of the NMRAA team.
But it won't take long the four of them would be aptly christened as the "Super Bulilits" when they unleashed a menacing form in lording it over the elementary boys table tennis team competition for NMRAA's second gold.
The mighty pair of Palmero and Bustamante crushed National Capital Region in the semis, 3-1 to arrange a final showdown against Western Visayas, which pulled out a similar 3-1 conquest of Region 4 in the other half of the semifinal matches.
Coach Dalman expects Western Visayas to put up a strong fight, though the opposite happens when the NMRAA table netters gave no quarter in carving out an ego-tripping 3-0 victory.
"Wala ko nag-expect nga ingon-adto diay ka sayon, lopsided ang nahitabo," beamed Dalman who mentored the then 12-year-old Ian Nietes Lariba in completing a grand slam feat in singles event of the 2007 Palaro in Koronadal, South Cotabato.
"She's no longer around to help us in our Palaro campaign but we're so thankful the boys had gamely responded to the challenge," further said Dalman, referring to the youngest training pool member of the RP table tennis team who saw action in the last South East Asian Games.
Then came secondary boys arnis player, Nico Bhara who defeated Joshua Paracuelles of Central Visayas in bantamweight category of the full contact event to deliver the third gold for Northern Mindanao.
Nico's brother, Abdul Bhara settled for a bronze in the extra lightweight contest as compatriot June Rey Salinas landed at sixth place in the double identical weapon category.
In the controversial amateur boxing competition, NMRAA got a lone medal--a hard-earned silver--through the effort of Jeffrey Galero in the pinweight class.
Apart from Lariba, NMRAA's gold diggers last year in Koronadal were shotput ace Jerome Oclarit (now with FEU), long jump standout Maricel Pacquiao and taekwondo stalwart Josafat Simon Licayan. Both Pacquiao and Licayan remain with NMRAA squad now campaigning in secondary level.
Meanwhile, the NM dribblers sustain their winning ways to keep pace with fellow unbeaten rivals from the National Capital Region.
NMRAA's junior squad pummeled Central Visayas, 101-73 for their fourth-straight win as their elementary counterpart--also composed mostly of varsity talents from Sacred Heart of Jesus Montessori School in Cagayan de Oro--made mincemeat of Zambo Five, 85-29 to also remain unbeaten.
"In behalf of the Northern Mindanao athletes, dako atong pasalamat nga gisuportahan kita dire ni City Mayor Tinnex Jaraula ingon man sa iyang sinaligan nga mahigugmaon kaayo sa sports," said coach Boy Dacoco referring to the ever dynamic Asset honorary member, Jigs Jaraula who fought for the cause of giving ample allowances to the Cagayan de Oro-based athletes, coaches and officials.
