BAGUIO City broke loose in combative sports virtually clinching the overall title in the Batang Pinoy 2019 National Championships for the second straight year.
As of Friday, August 30, Baguio hauled a total of 48 golds, 36 silver and 51 bronze medals to run away with the overall crown in the weeklong competition hatched by the Philippine Sports Commission in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
Baguio struck gold in wushu where it harvested 14 and muay thai where it snared 10.
Aleca Dumseng (female 1st set chang quan, female 1st set qiang shu and female 1st jian shu), Andrei Albert (male 1st set chang quan, male 1st qiang shu/gun shu and male 1st set dao shu), Alyna Lomibao (female 1st set nan quan and female 1st set nan dao), Verah Dulay (female 24 taiji quan), Hans Lubguban (male 24 taiji quan and Male 32 taiji jian), and Carla Tilap (female 32 taiji jian) accounted for Baguio’s wushu victories.
Jether Bab-Anga (10-11 30kg), Azreal Duping (10-11 34kg), Charlwayne Bannagao (10-11 38kg), Larstephen Canedo (12-13 44kg), Edel Ali Ngina (12-13 46kg), Aira Nicole Mendoza (12-13 38kg), Krisna Malecdan (12-13 40kg), Francine Jade Velasco (14-15 38kg), Maria Isabel Malijana (14-15 42kg) and Ashlene Malecdan (14-15 54kg), for their part, delivered the muay thai wins.
Judo also accounted for seven gold medals including five silvers and six bronze despite the team almost failing to board a plane while taekwondo had a modest harvest of 5-6-7 as archery hit their mark with 6–6–8 while pencak silat added three golds and three bronze medals.
Eagle-eyed archer Aldrener Igot, Jr. meranwhile towed Cebu City to a distant second with 27-22-29 (gold-silver-bronze) followed by Quezon City (22-22-21), Davao City (21-23-22) and Pasig (18-19-16) at second to fifth places, respectively.
Igot spearheaded his mixed and boys’ teams to golden finishes to emerge the most bemedaled athlete in the competition.
Igot, who swept the 20m, 30m, 40m, 50m, FITA and Olympic round the previous days, teamed up with Khalil Jasper Abella and Kien Zhyron Torreon in edging General Santos’ Renato Joaquin, Nino Gleam Sabile and Allyson Quiepo via shootout in pocketing his seventh gold.
He then partnered with Densil Shane Dinopol in the mixed team in beating Dumaguete’s Nina Dominique Tagle and Matt Charrid Bajado, 6-2, and hauling his eighth mint—the most by anyone in this weeklong meet organized by the Philippine Sports Commission and backed by Milo.