The small Catanduanes delegation to the recent 2023 Batang Pinoy (BP) and Philippine National Games (PNG) were in good spirits in their return to the island despite enduring hours waiting in line for their transportation allowances from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on the last day of the competition.
One of the local athletes, Jehjireh Alcantara of Pandan School of Arts and Trades (PSAT), missed out on the podium finish in long jump, ending up 4th out of 99 entries in the Under-18 category.
He recorded a first jump of 6.17 meters, enough to send him to the top eight for the finals.
For the chance at a medal, Alcantara made a leap of 6.46 meters, beating his personal record of 6.38 meters but it just was not enough.
In the 100-meter dash, he ended up at 9th place out of 125 participants and 24th in the 200-meter dash.
The other track and field competitor, Patrick Eustaquio of the Catanduanes State University, placed 13th out of 30 entries in the long jump and 19th of 53 participants in the 100-meter dash.
Local pugilists’ dream of gold started well, with Archie Subion winning by unanimous decision over a Pangasinan fighter in the category for 15-16 year-old boxers weighing 44-46 kilograms in the Batang Pinoy.
However, he lost by UD in the second round against a boxer from Iligan City.
In the PNG bout for 54-57 kgs for over 18 years-olds, Edsel Ubalde lost by RSC (Referee Stopped Contest) against a boxer from Camarines Sur.
Bishunen Subion also dropped his fight via split decision to a Laguna boxer in the 51-54 kgs.
Two other boxers – Palarong Pambansa bronze medalist Yurrico Subion and Jonie Rex Llego were both disqualified after failing to make weight.
In the elimination games for badminton doubles, locals John Vincent Artuz of San Miguel and Renz Talisic of Gigmoto were defeated in two sets, 13-15 and 14-15, while Andres Bañas of San Miguel was thoroughly outclassed by a national champion in the singles, 2-15 and 5-15.
Delegation head Edwin Gianan said that this was his first time overseeing a group of this size, and that he was thankful for the help provided by the provincial government of Catanduanes in terms of transport, food and training allowance, as well as their lodging before the competition.
“With our very good experience an eye opener for all of us who competed here, I talked to the coaches that for next year, we will conduct a profiling of athletes for specific sports where we have a big chance of landing a medal,” he added.
The athletes were accompanied by their coaches: Rean Lou Tomaniog for track and field, Archie Subion and Johnbrian Basinio for boxing, and Phil Alcantara for badminton.
Before the parade for the opening ceremony, Gianan was able to converse with PSC Executive Director Paulo Francisco Tatad, son of former Senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad who hails from Gigmoto.
On their last day in Metro Manila, the delegation managed to survive its biggest test as it joined more than 20,000 athletes and coaches who joined four queues for the release of the P2,000 travel allowance at the PSC office at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The Commission was forced to give the allowance after it failed to provide free transportation for the athletes and coaches from their billeting quarters to the event venues and vice versa.
They lined up for more than six hours, enduring the heat and lack of food, as the PSC required each of them to individually claim the allowance and sign on the payroll.
It was already night when PSC officials decided to allow coaches to make an authorization letter signed by their athletes for each sport and accompanied by their athletes’ IDs so the allowance could be claimed in batches.