NCR continues to dominate Palaro medal race

More than half of NCR’s 23 newly-acquired golds came from swimming, highlighted by Philip Santos’ dominating performance in the 200-meter individual medley. (Photo: Palarong Pambansa 2018/Facebook)

VIGAN, Ilocos Sur — The National Capital Region (NCR) continues to pile up on golds after Day 3 of the Palarong Pambansa here.

As of 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Metro Manila squad took home a total of 38 golds along with 24 silvers and 13 bronzes.

More than half of NCR’s 23 newly-acquired golds came from swimming, highlighted by Philip Santos’ dominating performance in the 200-meter individual medley.

Santos finished the race in 2:13.05, shattering a Palaro record that stood for about 20 years.

All in all, five swimming records were broken on Wednesday by the NCR tankers.

Meanwhile, Calabarzon reigned in the 100-meter races.

Veruel Verdadero remained the fastest high schooler in the land after setting a new Palaro record with a 10.55-second run in the final.

His final run was 0.1 second faster than his time at the heats, which in itself already broke the record.

On the other hand, Jessel Lumapas became the new queen of the Palaro 100-meter dash after finishing first at 11.99 seconds.

Lumapas suited up for the race on short notice, but she put enough effort to dethrone the erstwhile champ from Eastern Visayas.

The two golds helped Calabarzon stay in second place in the overall race with 15 golds, 18 silvers, and 31 bronzes, just five bronze medals ahead of Western Visayas, which overtook Soccsksargen for third place.

Despite the slip, Soccsksargen also breached the 10-gold mark with 14 top finishes even as CAR entered the 10-gold club with 12 of its own.

Only Zamboanga Peninsula and ARMM have yet to capture a gold in the games as the latter failed to take a medal on Wednesday.