HONG KONG: Philippine swimmers continued their remarkable run in the 2014 Hong Kong Stingrays Swimming Championships at the Hong Kong International School swimming pool by winning three golds, three silvers and two bronzes on the meet’s second day.
Sean Terence Zamora of University of Santo Tomas collected three more golds in the boys’ 13-14 years class.
Zamora, a consistent winner in international competitions, dominated the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1 minute and 3.48 seconds, relegating Nicholas Chan of Hong Kong to second place (1:06.89) and another Hong Kong bet, Jonathan Cheung, to third (1:08.25).
Zamora also ruled the 200m butterfly in 2:17.88 and the 200m backstroke in 2:18.52 to become the top candidate for the Most Outstanding Swimmer in his age group.
“This kid [Zamora] is really promising” said Susan Papa, president of the Philippine Swimming League (PSL), who brought the Filipino swimmers to the Hong Kong meet. “We’ll make sure that we, in the PSL, will guide to achieve his goals in the future. He still has two more events and we’re hoping that he’ll deliver again.”
UAAP Rookie of the Year Christen Mercado of University of the Philippines took the silver in the boys’ 17-over 100m backstroke (1:02.91) and the bronze in the 100m freestyle (57.16).
Cape Town Swim Meet champion Kyla Soguilon added one silver and one bronze in the girls’ 9 years category. She placed second in the 50m freestyle (34.46) and third in the 50m butterfly (38.98).
Gabriel Guerrero got the other silver medal, in the boys’ 13-14 years 100m freestyle with a time of 1:00.05. Jonathan Cheung of Hong Kong was second in 1:00.04.
Guerrero placed fourth in the 200m butterfly (2:35.21) and sixth in 200m Individual Medley.
So far, the Philippines has hauled in four golds, four silvers and two bronzes in the championships.
Earlier, Zamora won the 200m IM, while the boys’ 200m medley relay team pocketed a silver.
The other members of the team are Kobe Soguilon (boys’ 14 years), Grayiel Guerrero (boys’ 13 years), Gaddiel Vicente San Pedro (boys’ 15 years), Mark Lawrence Sevilla (boys’ 9 years) and John Gabriel Bucad (boys’ 10 years).
“It’s important for these young swimmers to experience this kind of competition. It will motivate them to perform well in the next competition that they’ll be joining, be it a local or an international event. They’ll feel the experience of representing our country,” Papa said.
PSL Secretary General Maria Susan Benasa, and coaches Alex Papa and Marlon Dula are also in the delegation.
PSL is accredited by the Federation of School Sports of the Philippines, an affiliate to Federation International Sports University.
EMIL C. NOGUERA