TAGAYTAY CITY — The Philippines delivered one of its best performances in international aerobic gymnastics, collecting one gold, one silver and three bronze medals at the 10th Aerobic Gymnastics Asian Championships presented by the Philippine Sports Commission at the Tagaytay CT Velodrome.
The hosts opened the two-day competition with a breakthrough gold and bronze in the youth mixed pairs before adding a silver and two more bronze medals on the final day to cap a successful campaign against Asia’s top gymnasts.
The biggest breakthrough came on Thursday, Aug. 6, when rookies Rhimel Daniel Cabides and Antonette Amante struck gold in the youth mixed pairs event in their international debut.
Fresh from standout performances at the Palarong Pambansa in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, the pair combined dynamic routines with polished execution to score 17.80 points.
General Santos City’s Rhys Enoch Balmayor and John Mikaela Ladaran completed a memorable debut by taking bronze with 17.150 points.
“Napatunayan namin na maaari kaming makipagsabayan internationally (We proved that we can compete with the best internationally),,” said Amante, a 14-year-old triple Palarong Pambansa gold medalist and Grade 8 student at Teodoro Alonzo High School.
“Maganda na mapakinggan ang national anthem ng Pilipinas (Hearing the Philippine national anthem being played was an unforgettable feeling),” she added.
Ladaran, 11, called the podium finish a dream come true.
“This is all too surreal. We really did not expect it. It was only a dream,” she said.
Competing first among six finalists, Cabides and Amante set the standard with 17.80 points based on difficulty, execution and artistry. They then endured an anxious wait as the remaining pairs completed their routines.
Vietnam’s Ann Thinh Tran and Ngoc Gia Nguyen matched the Filipinos’ overall score but settled for silver after receiving a lower execution mark, 7.450 against the Philippine pair’s 7.500.
When the final standings flashed on the giant screen, confirming the Filipinos’ victory, the home crowd erupted in cheers as Cabides and Amante embraced and cried tears of joy.
The Philippines carried that momentum into Friday’s finals, where the senior aero dance team captured silver in another impressive international debut.
Performing to a lively medley of Filipino ethnic music that transitioned into the popular “Budots” beat, the squad earned 16.60 points to finish behind powerhouse Vietnam, which scored 17.250.
Veterans Arcanio Cadlos and Charmaine Dolar led the team, joined by Enrico Ostia, James Dominick Yray, Jhon Jeoffrey Cañones, sisters Dorothy Grace and Danielle Asuncion, and Princess Johanna Pama.
Cadlos and Dolar also secured bronze in the senior mixed pairs event with 18.30 points, finishing behind the Vietnamese tandem that claimed the top two places.
The country collected another bronze in the youth aero dance event after scoring 16.700 points. The team was composed of Enoch Ryan, Jan Basmayor, Mikhaela Ladaran, Sean Emmanuel, Leona Shendrach, Jane Hallel Ramos, Anne Miguel Martin, Casey Meniano, Nathalya Facultad and Anne Haizzah Meniano.
“Super happy kami kasi lahat ng sacrifices namin naging sulit. Super unexpected kasi last entry po kami tapos nag-silver po (We’re very happy because all our sacrifices paid off. Winning silver was completely unexpected, especially since we performed last),” Pama said.
Coach and former national team member Carlo Joshua Tangonan credited the young athletes’ perseverance for the breakthrough performances.
“Naging mahirap din ang journey ng mga bata at ang training nila, kaya sobrang saya ko sa resulta (The athletes went through a difficult journey and demanding training, so I’m very happy with the result),” Tangonan said.
He also thanked the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines for allowing the country’s junior athletes to test themselves against Asia’s best. Tangonan won a mixed pairs bronze medal with Charmaine Dolar at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
National coach Alena Rius welcomed the team’s strong finish.
“Masaya na po ako at naka-silver and bronze kami sa senior events. Pinaghandaan namin talaga ito (I’m happy that we won silver and bronze in the senior events. We really prepared hard for this),” she said.
She said Cadlos and Dolar’s bronze was particularly meaningful because they competed against world-ranked Vietnamese gymnasts.
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion also praised both the national team’s performance and the successful staging of the championships, which drew athletes and officials from 12 Asian countries.
“We allowed them to perform in front of the hometown crowd, and I’m glad they delivered beyond our expectations,” Carrion said. “They competed against the best in Asia and performed well.”
The championships were organized by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines, sanctioned by the Asian Gymnastics Union, and supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., and the Tagaytay City government.
