TAGAYTAY - From out of nowhere, two rookie Philippine pairs won a gold and bronze medal in the youth mixed pairs event of the 10th Aerobic Gymnastics Asian Championships presented by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Both standouts in the last Palarong Pambansa held in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, Rhimel Daniel Cabides and Antonette Amante pranced and danced with both dynamism and elegance in securing the gold medal with a score 17.80 points at the modified Tagaytay CT Velodrome.
Second Philippine medal
General Santos natives Rhys Enoch Balmayor and John Mikaela Ladaran gave the country a second medal by securing third place (17.150) in the meet backed by the Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Both pairs made the most of their international debuts in the competition organized by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines and sanctioned by the Asian Gymnastics Union.
"Napatunayan namin maari kaming makapasabayan internationally," said Amante, a triple Palaro gold medalist, who, like Cabides, is 14 and a Grade 8 Teodoro Alonzo High School student.
"I am very proud of both pairs. Nagin mahirap din yung journey ng mga bata and their training so I am very happy with the result," said coach and former national team athlete Carlo Joshua Tangonan of his wards.
Vying as the first squad among six finalists, Cabides and Amante set the tone with their eye-popping score of 17.80 points based on the cumulative tally of difficulty, execution and artistry.
The closest squad to come near their score was the Vietnamese tandem of Ann Thinh Tran and Ngoc Gia Ngueyen, who also had 17.80 points, but were relegated to the silver for its execution - 7.450 to the PH duo's 7.50.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
