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Palarong Pambansa: Calabarzon sprinters dominate, as NCR medal haul grows

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Karl Cedrick Basco, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/04/18/sprinters-2018-2018-041818.jpg"/><figcaption>Jessel Lumapas (third lane from right) emerged as the sprint queen of the 2018 Palarong Pambansa in Ilocos Sur on Wednesday. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>BANTAY, Ilocos Sur—The National Capital Region asserted its position as the best swimming region, leaning anew on the medal-rich sport to pull away in the medal tally of the Palarong Pambansa on Wednesday.While the Big City owned the surf, the turf belong to Southern Tagalog.Grade 10 student Veruel Verdadero successfully defended his title as Palaro&#x27;s 100-meter sprint king with yet another record-breaking run while fellow teammate from Cavite, Jessel Lumapas, ran away with the gold in the girls division. Verdadero, who won 5 golds in last year&#x27;s Palaro in Antique, set a new record during the time trial (10.65 seconds) only to break it again during the finals, clocking 10.55 seconds. &quot;Pinaghandaan ko lang [itong finals]. Tamang takbo lang tapos sinubukan ko lang po higitan &#x27;yung sa time trial ko,&quot; Verdadero told reporters. Lumapas pulled off a come-from-behind victory in the girls division, beating out the defending champion from Eastern Visayas. She registered 11.99 seconds, enough to win a gold despite her sudden inclusion in the event. According to the incoming Grade 12 student, the victory surprised her, because she is not used to running short distances.&quot;Hindi ko in-expect na mananalo sa 100 meters kasi nag-focus lang talaga ako sa 400 meters,&quot; said Lumapas. As expected, the NCR ruled the swimming competitions, amassing 12 of the 16 gold medals at stake Wednesday. NCR swimmers also broke 5 Palaro records. Mark Jiron Rotoni timed 2:27.66 to set a new record in 200-meter breaststroke for secondary boys, while Thanya Dela Cruz clocked 2:46.62 during the time trial for a new mark in the girls division.Michaela Mojdeh finished the 200-meter individual medley for elementary girls with a time of 2:33.12, besting the previous record set in 2015, while Philip Joaquin Santos smashed a 2-decade old record in the 200-meters IM secondary boys (2:13.05).Samantha Coronel of NCR bagged her third gold and third record in this year&#x27;s Palaro after helping NCR&#x27;s 4x100-medley medley relay in secondary girls top the event establish a new fastest time(4:32.68). Meanwhile, Eastern Visayas took home a couple of gold medals in wresting secondary girls while NCR also made its presence felt in table tennis, adding 2 gold medals. Cagayan Valley Region also captured another gold in athletics after Algin Gomez claimed his second gold in these games in the triple jump event for secondary boys. As of 9:30 p.m. of Wednesday, NCR collected 38 gold, 24 silver, and 13 bronze medals to stay on top of the leaderboard. Calabarzon (15-18-31) and Western Visayas (15-18-26) were second and third, respectively.(For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.)

As of posting time, NCR collected 38 gold and 75 total medals; Southern Tagalog placed second with 15 gold and 64 total medals.

As of posting time, NCR collected 38 gold and 75 total medals; Southern Tagalog placed second with 15 gold and 64 total medals.

Palarong Pambansa: Calabarzon sprinters dominate, as NCR medal haul grows

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Palarong Pambansa: Calabarzon sprinters dominate, as NCR medal haul grows

Karl Cedrick Basco,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 18, 2018 10:16 PM PHT

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Updated April 19, 2018 03:54 PM PHT

Read More:

Palaro

Palarong Pambansa

Palaro 2018

Calabarzon

NCR

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