Sports

Sprint princess shifts focus to national championship

Marianne L. Saberon-Abalayan

BEA Burbe, who swept three gold medals for Davao City in the recently-concluded Batang Pinoy 2019 Mindanao Qualifying Leg athletics competition at the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex in Tagum City, will maximize the eight months left to train before she competes in the national championship in October.

She, who hails from Calinan, was hailed Batang Pinoy 2019 Mindanao sprint princess after topping the girls 13-15 100-meter and 200m dash events. She also anchored the city's girls 4X400m relay team to a golden finish.

“First time nako muapil sa Batang Pinoy. Wala ko mag-expect mudaug kay nakulbaan ko sa akong mga kalaban (It's my first time to join the Batang Pinoy. I did not expect to win because I was too nervous seeing my rivals),” Burbe, 14, said in an interview with SunStar Davao.

Coach Valerio Bulpa, for his part, said Burbe has a great potential to win medals in the Batang Pinoy nationals. He said that trainer Ramil Torregosa Bansag-ao will monitor Burbe's training.

“Wala lang sya maka-gold sa Davraa kay halos 17 na mga nakalumba niya (She failed to win a gold in Davraa Meet 2019 since she was up against runners who were mostly 17 years old),” Bulpa said, adding that Burbe only settled for a silver in secondary girls 200m and helped produced a relay gold for the city.

Burbe, however, failed to qualify in the coming Palarong Pambansa 2019 slated April 27 to May 4 in Davao City. Thus, her concentration will be on the Batang Pinoy national finals either set in Tagbilaran City or Ormoc City.

The eighth grader from Calinan National High School added, “Maningkamot lang jud ko (I will do my best).”

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