By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
VIGAN CITY – Another CALABARZON bet in Eliza Cuyom made ripples yesterday, winning the secondary girls’ 100-meter hurdles in record-ripping fashion even as cancer survivor Daniela Dela Pisa of Central Visayas scooped four gold medals in the secondary girls’ rhythmic gymnastics in the 2018 Palarong Pambansa here.
Cuyom, 17, returned to the President Elpidio Quirino Stadium with a bang by clocking 14.50 seconds to capture the gold medal, eclipsing the 14.73sec mark she posted in Tuesday’s preliminaries.
Prior to her record-breaking performance in the heats, the Grade 11 student of Dasmariñas East Integrated High School smashed the 18-year-old national junior record of 15.00sec set by NCR’s Julie Rose Forbes in the 2000 Philippine Open.
She also broke the 22-year-old Palaro record of 14.90sec posted by Michelle Patasha in 1996.
At the Sta. Maria Municipal gym, 14-year-old Dela Pisa dominated the rope (11.067 points), hoop (14.783), ball (15.300) and individual all-around (51.446) while settling for silver in the clubs apparatus (10.3167).
An incoming Grade 9 student of University of the Visayas, Dela Pisa was ecstatic with her achievement hoping she could get a call to be included in the national training pool.
Starting the sport when she was three years old, Dela Pisa battled Stage II ovarian cancer when she was only four but still went on to pursue the sport.
“Pangarap ko po talagang ma ging member ng national team,” said Dela Pisa, who came from a family of gymnasts including her coach/mom, Darlene, and uncle Allen Castañeda, a national team coach for men’s artistics gymnastics.
Meanwhile, four more Palaro records were smashed in Day 2 of swimming competitions as National Capital Region continued its dominance by reaping 12 gold medals.
Mark Jiron Rotoni timed 2 minutes and 27.66 seconds to win the secondary boys’ 200m breastroke to reset the 2017 record of NCR’s Drew Magbag (2:28.28), even as teammate Michaela Mojdeh posted 2:33.12 to shatter the three-year-old mark of Central Visayas’ Raven Faith Alcoseba (2:33.71) in the elementary girls 200m individual medley.
Philip Joaquin Santos surpassed the 1998 Palaro mark (2:13.28) of Carlo Piccio in the secondary boys 200m IM by timing 2:13.05, while the secondary girls 400m individual medley relay team of Samantha Coronel, Thanya Dela Cruz, Camille Buico and Zoe Hilario smashed their 4:34.59 mark they set in the heats by improving to 4:32.68 for the gold.
At presstime, the Metro Manila tankers have 22 mints.
New records were also set in athletics apart from Cuyom as Jessel Lumapas timed 56.28sec to rule the secondary girls’ 400m.
Lumapas, who won in the 100m on Wednesday, reset the 2011 mark of 57.33sec set by Jennyrose Rosales of then Southern Tagalog.
Western Visayas’ Trixie Jane Willie prevailed in the elementary girls’ 100m hurdles in 16.30sec to also break the eight-year-old mark of 16.40sec posted by Jesus Ampunan.
