DAVAO City’s Bhenz Rudolf Owen Semilla and Francheska Dezzly Darvin of F. Bustamante National High School clinched two gold medals for Davao Region in the Philippine Dancesport Federation, Inc. (PDFSI) 2nd Quarter National Championship held at PhilSports Complex in Pasig City.
The Palarong Pambansa standouts topped the Modern Standard Youth A and Under-21 categories, continuing their gold-winning streak after claiming six gold medals in Ilocos Norte.
“It was really a tough week for us,” said 16-year-old Darvin in a Messenger interview with SunStar Davao on Sunday, June 22. “It was really a tough week for us po. From attending dance camp in Cebu to going straight to Manila for our second quarter national ranking competition po (We came from a dance camp in Cebu and went straight to Manila for this competition. We haven’t had any rest since Palaro).”
Despite back-to-back events, the duo delivered strong performances. “Hindi talaga kami naka-rest since Palaro po. And before Palaro, we still had two competitions na sinalihan for preparation din sa Palaro (We joined two more competitions before Palaro as preparation),” Darvin added. “We were exhausted and under pressure, but we stayed focused. These victories were hard-earned, and we’re proud.”
Seventeen-year-old Semilla shared the same sentiment. “I’m thankful we maintained our top spot from the 1st Quarter Championship, to Palaro, and now here.”
With eyes on them, the duo said they doubled their efforts to live up to expectations. “Alam po namin na marami ang nakatingin sa amin, kaya doble kayod po talaga para ma-defend namin ito (We know many people are watching us, so we’re working twice as hard to defend our place),” Semilla said.
Although they’ve wrapped up their final Palaro campaign, both athletes remain active in national and international dancesport competitions. MLSA