Davao City athletes rule Davraa

BY CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY
THE Davao City Durians came through with another scintillating performance as the curtains finally fell on the 2015 Davao Regional Athletic Association Meet (Davraa) Meet Sunday in Mati City, Davao Oriental.
The Durians captured 108 gold medals, 83 silvers and 79 bronzes in emerging the overall champion and ruling anew the region’s biggest sporting competition for elementary and secondary athletes.
Panabo City finished second overall with 53 gold medals, 57 silvers and 49 bronze medals. Tagum City ended up third after its 38-55-46 medal haul in the five-day competition.
Davao City stamped its class both in the elementary and secondary levels, drawing golden performances from its swimmers and dominating the ballgames in the meet held in the southern part of Mindanao that is known for its beautiful resorts,
The Durians finished with a 55-30-32 medal haul in the elementary division and had 53-53-47 in secondary.
After getting a gold medal from Romeo Libuit in shot put right on opening day that jumpstarted their triumphant campaign, the Durians were unforgiving as the Meet progressed.
They sustained their fiery form up to the last day of competition, with the boys’ elementary and secondary football teams delivering the coup d’ grace with victories in two gold medal matches.
The Durians edged Tagum City, 1-0, for the elementary gold and made it a double kill with a 2-0 victory over Davao Oriental in the secondary finals.
Raphael Cesar Balan was the goal scored for Davao City in elementary while John Rhey Lagura and Anton Lopez had a goal each in the secondary triumph.
Earlier, Davao City turned the swimming pool into a virtual gold mine after grabbing 1 golds, 11 silvers and five bronze medals.
Rey Jacob Alino, Edward Alfaro III and Zoe Marie Hilario spearheaded the assault with their golden swims.
Alino ruled the elementary boys 50-meter back stroke event while Alfaro bagged the gold in the boys’ elementary 50-meter breast stroke.
Hilario, a multi-gold medal winner in the Batang Pinoy national finals in Bacolod City last December, won the girls elementary 100-meter backstroke.