Cebuana Athletes Add 3 Medals in SEA Games

Two young Cebuana athletes won another three medals for Team Philippines in the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

The Philippines is still at sixth place in the meet with 24 golds, 29 silver and 53 bronze medals.

Thailand took over the top spot with 71-68-54, relegating host Singapore to second at 70-62.83.

The two are followed by Vietnam (62-41-50), Malaysia (38-40-50) and Indonesia (33-41-54).

Taekwondo jin Rinna Babanto, a 17-year-old member of the national team who is in her second straight stint in the SEA Games, won the silver medal in the women’s individual poomsae–forms competition—in taekwondo and got another bronze medal with fellow teens Juvenile Faye Crisostomo and Jocelyn Ninobla in the women’s poomsae event. They finished third to Vietnam and Thailand.

Singapore’s Sim Chelsea, 19, won the women’s individual gold after getting eight points from two judges, edging Babanto, who got 7.480. Mutiara Habiba, 19, got the bronze medal with 7.365 points.

Cebu Taekwondo Association president Tony del Prado, who is also the Region 7 chairman of the Philippine Taekwondo Association praised Babanto’s feat.

“The silver fells like the gold for us as you know Rinna is just 17 years old and there is so much more in store for her,” he said.

Babanto first joined the SEA Games in 2013 and won a bronze medal in the team competition. It was her first time to join the individual competition this year.

“Being the country’s best poomsae player in the women’s division is a feat in itself, but she has much work ahead of her,” del Prado said.

Babanto earlier said that she was gunning for the gold medals in both events but del Prado said the second and third-place finishes will just make her hungrier to do better the next time.

“What is important is that she gave everything in training and during competition. We couldn’t ask for more. This experience will make her hungrier and strive to do more,” he said.

On the other hand, bowler Alexis Sy, who is also in her second stint in the SEA Games, helped the women’s team win the bronze medal by scoring a team-high of 1,195 points in six games for their total of 3,608. Singapore won the gold with 3,963, while Thailand got the silver in 3,707.

“”It feels great to finally win a medal in the SEA Games,” said Sy, who made her first SEA Games stint in Indonesia in 2011. Myanmar dropped bowling when it hosted the meet in 2013.

Her local peers are also elated with her achievement.

“Her determination to be one of the best in the country is paying off. I think she’s the first Cebuano to win a medal in the SEA Games,” said Bowlingplex Tenpin Association president Bel Suelto Jr. (PNA) CTB/EB/MP/PJN