TAGUM, Davao del Norte, Philippines — An eagle-eyed archer from Koronadal City and three tankers struck hard yesterday in the 2019 Philippine National Youth Games-Batang Pinoy at the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex.
John Carlo Loreno, 15, topped the cadet boys 30-meter, 40m, 50m, 60m and single Fita events to emerge the first quintuple gold medal winner in this weeklong event for in and out-of-school youth athletes aged 15 years old and below.
It was the most for the Koronadal National Comprehensive High School Grade 9 student after failing to strike a single gold in the BP National Finals in Baguio and the Palarong Pambansa in Vigan, Ilocos Norte last year.
“My goal is to win gold in the National Batang Pinoy as well as in the Palarong Pambansa,” said Loreno in Filipino.
Over at the pool, Davao City’s Liaa Margarette Amoguis, Davao del Norte’s Rain Andrei Tumulac and Bukidnon’s Gene Heart Quiambao splashed their way to two gold medals each at the start of medal-rich swimming.
Amoguis topped the girls’ 12-and-under 200m individual medley in two minutes, 39 seconds and swam 1:11.02 to claim the 100m butterfly gold almost an hour later. Tumulac ruled the boys’ 12-and-under 100m freestyle (1:005.49) and 100m fly (1:14.68).
Quiambao took the girls’ 13-15 100m freestyle (1:03.22) and 50m backstroke (33.69) in just a 15-minute span.
North Cotabato’s John Alexander Talosig joined the double-gold medal club in swimming with mints in 200m IM and 1500m freestyle for boys 13-15 with times of 2:19.74 and 17:52.25.
Talosig capped North Cotabato’s surprising performance of six golds, the other four coming from Isidore Warain, Rusty Ceasar Ladra, Saira Janelle Pabellon and Jie Angela Talosig
The 12-year-old Amoguis is using this event in preparation for the Palarong Pambansa set late April in hometown Davao.
“I’m here because I want to improve on my time and break all the records in Palarong Pambansa,” said Amoguis, a Grade 6 ABAS Orchard Maroon Montessori student who harvested six golds in the Davao Regional Week less than a week ago in Davao.
Other winners were Davao City’s Lora Micah Amoguis (200m IM), Julianne Marie Villanueva (800m free), Alissa Ysabelle Lazarraga (100m fly) and Pietro Dominic Requiza (50m back), GenSan’s Nova Rea Estrada (100m free), Dipolog’s Ma. Jashara Napigquit (50m back) and Albren Jan Dayapdapan (50m breast), and Davao del Norte’s Blu Cabilete (50m back), Eryk John Domandam (100m fly) and Yuan Gabrielle (50m breast).