Saturday, April 21, 2007 Prisaa 7 drops to third place
ILOILO CITY— The Private Schools Athletic Association-7 carted eight gold medals yesterday but slid down to third place after most of the results of the weeklong event came in the 2007 Prisaa National Games here.
Prisaa-11 (Davao) overtook Central Visayas at the second spot as they inked an aggregate tally of 63 golds, 39 silvers, and 58 bronze medals to place next to virtual overall champion and host Prisaa-6 (Western Visayas Region), which now has a total of 96 golds, 52 silvers, and 35 bronze medals.
The Central Visayas delegation secured the bulk of its medals from karatedo, which was held at the SM City Iloilo, while its men’s athletics team grabbed a gold over at the Iloilo City Sports Complex.
Leading the gold medalists for Prisaa-7 in karatedo are University of Cebu’s Kim Legarto, who dominated the men’s kata competition; Klaus Aton, who topped the below 70-kilogram division in kumite; and Jazzier Seguirra, who dominated the women’s kata competition.
Also racking up golds for Central Visayas in karatedo are Bohol Institute of Technology’s Robert Jay Hedalgo, who topped the below 65-kilogram division in men’s kumite; University of the Visayas’ Jerome Tapilot, who ruled the above 70kgs. in men’s kumite; Aiza Galil Nacario, who dominated the above-70kgs. women’s kumite; and University of San Jose-Recoletos’ April Marie Campo, who grabbed the title in women’s below 53kgs. kumite competition.
University of Cebu’s Jorge Pinanonang gave Central Visayas its final gold of the day after the Bayawan City, Negros Oriental-native trickster showed his power in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, finishing the race in 57.1 seconds to beat Region 1’s Jobert Maraya (57.8) and Region 4-A’s Jovic Giray (58.1) for the gold.
Prisaa-7, however, met a double whammy yesterday in the events it counted on most to win the gold medal as its women’s volleyball and basketball teams lost their matches to separate foes in the championship rounds.
First to fall were the Foundation University (FU) and UJS-R-powered women’s volleyball team, who lost in the gold medal round to host Prisaa-6, one set to three at the Iloilo Doctors’ College gymnasium.
The Prisaa-7 women dribblers, composed of players from the UC Lady Webmasters, USC Lady Warriors, and Holy Name University of Bohol, settled for the silver medal after bowing to Prisaa-11, 81-89, in the championship match at the Iloilo City Sports Complex’s covered court.
Central Visayas, which blasted Region 4A during the crossover semis, 78-62, were no match for the tenacious offense and defense of the Davao cagers as the latter led from start to finish in securing the five gold medals at stake in the competition.
Davao started the game strong and immediately established a 30-23 edge at the end of the opening quarter before increasing this to a 51-42 wall at the bend.
The Prisaa-7 lady cagers tried to narrow the gap and were successful in cutting the deficit to a single digit several times but Prisaa-11 refused to buckle under pressure and continued to drill holes on Prisaa-7’s nets. It finally re-established its double-digit edge in the final canto to secure the win. (JSV)
