By MARK REY MONTEJO
Maxine Marie Bautista spoiled Sofia Frank’s three-peat bid as she ruled the senior women’s category of the Philippine National Figure Skating Championships 2024 at SM Skating inside Mall of Asia in Pasay City on Friday, Nov. 8.
Bautista, 23, dazzled in her first-ever campaign on Philippine soil after collecting 132.84 points to beat out five other Filipina competitors including Frank, who won the tournament two in a row, in the free skating event.
The Melrose Park, Illinois native reigned over her rivals as she also topped the short program on the opening day.
Cathryn Limketkai (123.24) and Frank (108.79) settled for silver and bronze, respectively.
With her performance, Bautista also secured a spot in the PH team that will vie in the 2025 Asian Winter Games (AWG) in Harbin, China in February next year.
A former member of US national figure skating team, Bautista will join one other female and a lone male bet in the continental joust.
Meanwhile in senior men, Paolo Borromeo earned an outright berth in the AWG. He, however, still performed in the local meet where he amassed 135.51 points.
Other winners were Brandon Baldoz (Junior Men), Lilliana Fish (Junior Women), Indonesia’s Muhammad Akbar (Novice Boys), Giuliana Angeli Dinopol (Novice Girls), UAE’s Marina Makarenko (Int. Novice Girls), Ludwig Carizo (Basic Novice Boys), Dawn Gothong (Basic Novice Girls), Atasha Zurbito (Pre-Novice Girls) and Indonesia’s Aresya Samara Tunggadewi (Pre-Juvenile Girls).
The tournament lasted for two days and was joined by youngsters from the host Philippines, UAE, Indonesia, Singapore, and South Korea.
