ASEAN School Games 2018: PH Team Reaps Gold in Athletics, Table Tennis

After hauling five golds in the first three days of the 10th ASEAN Schools Games (ASG), the country’s girls’ athletics team, spearheaded by Eliza Cuyom, copped the girls’ 100-meter hurdles to raise their total gold to six on July 24.

The 17-year-old Cuyom turned in a blistering 14.45-second effort to outrun rivals Liza Putri Ramandha of Indonesia who timed 14.76 seconds, and Halimatul Saadia Binti Mohammed Raja of Malaysia who clocked 15.52 seconds. Ramandha and Raja salvaged the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

The Grade 12 student of Nazareth School of the National University said her training and focus finally paid off as she did not want to end her ASG stint on a sour note.

Cuyom achieved this feat three months after she shattered the national junior record in secondary girls’ 100-m hurdles event.

Filipino table paddler Jann Mari Nayre, who is the first-ever junior representative in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, stunned rival Josh Chua Shao Han of Indonesia, 3-1, in their boys singles titular showdown at the SJK Kong Hoe Hall in Klang. Han settled for the silver instead.

Over at the Darul Eshan Aquatic Centre in Shah Alam, Filipino tankers Jerard Dominic Jacinto and Samantha Therese Coronel also secured medals in the boys and girls backstroke events.

Jacinto checked in 57.72 seconds and grabbed the silver in the boys 100m backstroke, just .53 second slower than the record of gold medalist Farrel Armandio Tangkas of Indonesia’s 57.25 seconds. Tangkas’ teammate Dwiki Anugrah’s 58.13 seconds took the bronze medal.

Samanatha Therese Coronel also settled for bronze in the 100m girls backstroke.

“I am really proud of our athletes for giving all that they can in this event,” DepEd Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, External Partnerships, and School Sports Tonisito Umali stated. “I know that they did not only play because they want the award, but they played with all their hearts because they want to raise the flag of the Filipino people.” (DepEd)