4 GOLDS IN DAY 4
Palaro newbie Lloyd Apawan wins second gold in archery as swimmers finally win first gold Region 7 won 4 golds yesterday but drops to 7th place in ranking
Region 7's Lloyd Apawan made a sign of a cross before he raised his bow and fired a shot that went to the 10-point mark to win the shoot-off against his opponent and advance to the finals of the boys' Olympic round matchplay of the 60th Palarong Pambansa here at the Pis-anan National High School Track Oval yesterday.
Before the Olympic round shoot-off, Apawan already secured his second gold medal in the boys' 70-meter with a total score of 307, beating Kennyben Gallogo (306) of Caraga and Eduard Buladaco (302) of Region X. He also won gold medal in 60m last Wednesday and silver medal in single Fita.
The 17-year-old Apawan of Gothong National High School continued his superb performance in the Olympic matchplay as he scored 10 points to defeat Jay Aguilar of Calabarzon in the shoot-off round after the two tied-up with 23 in the first three arrows.
Apawan is one of the Region 7 athletes who showed superb class in the national sporting meet, showing significant improvements after missing the national Palarong Pambansa for three years.
“This is my first time to be in the Palarong Pambansa and also my last. I have joined the regionals for three times but it's my first time to qualify in the Palarong Pambansa,” said the Grade 10 student, who's also a volunteer coach on the grassroots program of the Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC).
He said that winning two gold medals in the Palarong Pambansa was not handed to him on a silver platter and it took a lot of practice, patience and hard work for him to get to there.
Apawan will have a showdown against Caraga archer in the final match of the Olympic matchplay today.
Coach Ma. Teresita F. Beltran introduced Apawan to archery four years ago and she was impressed with the improvement of her ward over the years.
“He's a very good athlete, a fast learner and has the mentality needed in archery. For my athlete I want them to succeed not just in sport, I want them to be a winner also in life. You will learn right attitude in sports and it can be applied in life,” said Beltran.
Over at the pool, the Region 7 tankers broke a losing streak as they finally snagged a gold medal in the boys' secondary 4x50m freestyle relay after clocking 1 minute and 43.20 seconds.
Region 7 team comprised Rian Marco Tirol of University of Bohol, Fredrick Chiongbian of Cebu International School, Christante Veloso of Paref Springdale and Johann Matthew Tubesa of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu.
It was the first gold medal for the four swimmers after several tries in the Palarong Pambansa, and it was nothing but sweet for them.
“For the past three years, we always settled for bronze medal, we did not expect this,” said Tubesa.
“It's an honor to win a first gold for Region 7 in swimming. It's really a great feeling because it's my last Palaro and it's great to end my stint here with a gold medal,” added Veloso, who's on his last year in the event together with Tubesa.
Chiongbian said that it was a total team effort for them and they bring out the best from each others.