Swimmers Requiza siblings, Suarez fuel Davao City’s Davraa 2025 domination

Davao City’s swimming stars delivered a historic performance at the Davao Region Athletic Association (Davraa) Meet 2025, setting a new benchmark with 52 gold medals, 33 silvers, and 29 bronzes, and braving the intense 34°C heat at the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex (DNSTC) pool in Tagum City Thursday, March 13. This haul surpassed last year’s 43-36-26 tally, reaffirming the city’s status as the region’s swimming powerhouse.

At the heart of this success were Ateneo de Davao’s Pietro Dominic, Stacey Bernice Requiza, and Juan Alessandro Suarez who ended their final Davraa Meet with seven golds each.

Perfect ending

For 18-year-old Pietro, his final Davraa was a perfect ending to years of hard work and dedication.

He ruled the secondary boys’ division, sweeping the 50m butterfly, 50m freestyle, and all backstroke events (50m, 100m, 200m) and anchoring the 4x50m medley (with Juan Alessandro Suarez, Jian Paul Baulos, and Sean Alan de Leon) and freestyle relay (alongside Almar Christian de Leon, Archibald Nicolas Lonzaga, and Liam Nigel Rebaya) teams to victory. His seven-gold haul was an upgrade from last year’s six-gold, one-silver finish.

Pietro shared in an interview with SunStar Davao. "It's bittersweet since this is my last Davraa, but I'm glad I achieved my goal."

While he suffered sunburn from the scorching heat, the discomfort was overshadowed by the pride of accomplishing his mission. Now, he awaits confirmation on his Palarong Pambansa 2025 events, as only those who meet the qualifying time standards (QTS) will advance to the national meet in Laoag this May.

"I hope to qualify in all my events," said Pietro, who began swimming at age 10 as a way to manage his asthma.

Golden streak

Pietro's younger sister, 17-year-old Stacey Bernice, also shone brightly in the pool. She dominated the 50m, 100m, and 200m backstroke, 50m butterfly, and 50m freestyle, while also playing a key role in Davao City’s 4x100m medley (with Zhamella Claire Mirantes, Paulette Xavier Apilado, and Jemeina Alexandra Pagaran) and 4x50m medley (with Jemeina Alexandra Pagaran, Zhamella Claire Mirantes, and Zoe Alexandra Raut) relay triumphs.

(I feel happy and sad at the same time. Happy because it's over and I won gold medals, but also sad because this is my last Davraa)," Stacey said.

Despite coming off an injury, she was proud of her performance. “I'd say I did a great job po even though kakagaling ko lang sa injury (considering I just recovered). I did a pretty good job."

Eyes on Palaro

Suarez made his mark as well, collecting seven golds in secondary boys 100m and 200m breaststroke, 100m and 200m freestyle, and 200m individual medley (IM). He also contributed to the city's golden finishes in 4x50 medley and 4x100 freestyle relays.

He said, "I feel very great po as I gave my all on all of my events. I also achieved the QTS in 100m and 200m breaststroke, and 200m IM."

Still, Suarez couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sadness, saying, "Ilang times na ako nag Davraa and ito na pala ang last ko, so binigay ko ang best ko dito (I’ve competed in Davraa several times, and realizing this was my last, I gave it my all)."

With his final Palarong Pambansa appearance on the horizon, Suarez is now focused on securing a national gold medal.

Medal rush

Davao City continued its medal rush, solidifying its dominance in the Davraa 2025 overall standings as of 7 p.m. With 119 golds, 58 silvers, and 49 bronzes, the Durians remain firmly at the top, leaving Davao del Norte (36-34-49), Tagum City (26-39-26), and Davao de Oro (19-34-45)trailing behind.

Host Davao del Norte Pioneers secured second place in the swimfest with an 18-18-18 medal haul, while Davao de Oro followed in third with seven golds, six silvers, and nine bronzes. Tagum City (3-15-9), Digos City (3-4-2), and Panabo City (1-1-7) trailed behind, along with Davao Oriental (0-3-3), Mati City (0-2-3), and Davao Occidental (0-0-1). MLSA