Fired-up Roy Barro braces for major comeback in Battle of the Gun Clubs

CEBU, Philippines —  Multi-titled Cebuano sharpshooter Roygbiv “Roy” Barro feels happy and great that he’s back hitting targets in the firing range after over nine months of inactivity due to the sports lockdown brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

The 20-year-old Barro topped almost all practical shooting tournaments he joined last year, both local and national, that earned him a special citation from the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) during its Annual Awards last February.

But two weeks later, Barro’s repertoire drastically changed when sporting events all over the world came to a sudden red stop because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Now that government restrictions have been eased out slowly, Barro looks forward to showcasing his marksmanship with a bang.

“I felt happy and satisfied because all the dry firing that I had and self-discipline from the last nine months since the lockdown, I’m finally able to put them into action,” said Barro, a consistent Dean’s Lister of De La Salle University where is also a member of the school’s football varsity team.

Since training in individual sports have been allowed by the government, Barro trained religiously at the Danao Gun Club in an effort to regain his shooting form and sharpness as well as boost his confidence level.

“I would like to extend my gratitude to Danao Gun Club and NS Gun Club for allowing me to practice in their shooting range most especially to Atty. Jessie Capoy for accompanying me every time I practice in his range (Danao). It really helped me a lot,” Barro said.

Barro is set to leave for Manila on November 21, just in time for the shootfest spearheaded by his mother club, the Laguna Practical Shooting Group (LAG-PSG) headed by its president Grandmaster Jun Catalan.

That will serve as Barro’s tuneup for his major comeback, the 24th Battle of the Gun Clubs slated on December 9-13 at the Armscor Firing Range in Marikina City.

“Honestly, I feel pressured because given the instances of our situation right now, there’s a chance that the muscle memory that I acquired in our training in Manila will not be in my system anymore,” Barro admitted.” That is why I decided to fly back to Manila next week even if the event is still in December so that I still have ample time to prepare.”

Barro has been picked by Catalan to form part of the select five-man Team A of LAG-PSG in the Standard High-Capacity Caliber 40 category. The others are Erwin Vidallon, Genesis Pible, Jean Paolo Tenorio, and Mark Tan.

“Being one of the selected individuals to represent LAG-PSG in this big prestigious event by our president (Catalan) himself is such a huge honor to me because all of my teammates in this five-man team are from Manila and I’m just the lone man from Cebu and I know it is a serious matter to him,” Barro furthered.

Barro and his group though must brace for an uphill battle as they are going up against the best of best practical shooters across the country.

“All of the selected members of each elite gun club in the country will be there. Guaranteed that a lot of grandmasters will be there. Bakbakan talaga ‘to, labanan ng pride,” Barro ended.