Dancesport medalists share honors with PAGCOR

MANILA, Philippines — The smashing campaign of the Philippine dancesport team in the recently-concluded 30th Southeast Asian Games wouldn’t have been possible if not for the full support of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR).

With its medal harvest of 10 golds and two silvers, the Dancesport Council of the Philippines (DSCPI) yesterday looked back with gratitude to PAGCOR, a government-owned-and-controlled corporation.

DSCPI head Rebecca Garcia said PAGCOR’s financial support enormously helped in training the dancesport athletes.

“All our four couples who dominated the Dancesport’s Standard and Latin categories benefited from PAGCOR’s aid. We were able to send them to Italy to attend a rigid dance training as part of their preparations for the SEA Games,” she said.

Among the dancesport athletes who trained in Italy were Sean Mischa Aranar and Ana Leonila Nualla, who won three gold medals for the Tango, Viennese Waltz and Five Dance Steps events; and Mark Jayson Gayon and Mary Joy Reginen, who bagged two gold medals in Standard Waltz and Slow Foxtrot, and a silver medal in Quickstep.

The pairs who competed in the Dancesport’s Latin Category also trained abroad with the state-gaming agency’s support. Wilbert Aunzo and Pearl Marie Cañeda won three gold medals with their impressive rendition of Samba, Chacha and Rumba while Michael Angelo Marquez and Stephanie Sabalo added two more golds after garnering the highest points in Paso Doble and Latin Five Dance event. The pair also snagged a silver medal in Jive.

Aside from the dance camp abroad, the athletes also trained under Polish coach Alina Nowak, a certified world dancesport champion and Alexander Melnikov, a Russian dancesport athlete and adjudicator. Both dancesport experts flew in to the Philippines to train the Philippines’ winning pairs.

“We could not have done this without PAGCOR,” said Garcia.