Verdadero shines, keeps sprint crown

SAN JOSE, Antique — Calabarzon's Veruel Verdadero retained his sprint title in overpowering fashion on a day four meet records in swimming fell in the Palarong Pambansa yesterday at the Binirayan Sports Complex here.

Verdadero, 15, produced a clocking of 10.96 seconds to keep his secondary boys’ 100m crown.

Eastern Visayas' Bianca Jane Combate was equally impressive, ruling the girls’ side after beating reigning titlist Samantha Gem Limos of Central Visayas.

Combate timed12.38 seconds to beat out Calabarzon's Eliza Cuyom who registered 12.50 seconds. Limos wound up third (12.55)

Western Visayas’ Kyla Soquilon also got a piece of the limelight when she became the meet’s first quadruple gold medal winner.

Soquilon, 12, clocked two minutes and 36.91 seconds to add the elementary girls’ 200m individual medley gold to her earlier wins in the in 100m back, 50m fly and the 4x50m medley relay (with Jade Lyxynn Ladrillo, Maria Joe Borres and Gabrille Barlin).

But Socsargen's Krishna Apin, Sofhia Janet Pormilos, Aia Kate Lagarto and Thea Diane Canda denied Soquilon a fifth gold when they reigned in the 4x50m relay.

NCR tankers Drew Magbag and Bela Louise Magtibay joined an impressive cast of record breakers by dominating the secondary boys’ and girls’ 200m breaststroke with clocking of 2:28.26 and 2:47.48, respectively.

Magbag, 17, erased the 2:28.85 mark set by teammate Mark Jiron Rotoni in the morning trials.

Interestingly, the 2:30.42 mark shattered by Rotoni was established by Magbag's coach, Rafael Chua, in Bacolod City 19 years ago.

Magtibay, a 15-year-old incoming Grade 10 student at La Salle-Zobel, was equally impressive as she reset the 19year-old mark registered by Jenny Guerrero in Bacolod.

NCR's Maurice Sacho Illustre outclassed the opposition in secondary boys’ 100m, clocking 52.97 seconds to smash the previous mark of 54.15 seconds he set last year.