THE PHILIPPINE Swimming Team – composed of mainly Blue and Lady Eagles – continued its quest for titles in the swimming competition of the 18th ASEAN University Games by hauling in another medal on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at the OCBC Aquatic Center in Singapore.
Lady Eagle and University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 77’s Rookie of the Year Ariana Herranz ranked third in the Women’s 200m Backstroke finals with a time of 2:26.78, bagging the country’s only award for the day and the Philippines’ fourth medal in the the tournament so far.
Herranz displayed high-energy throughout the day’s events alongside fellow tankers Hannah Dato and Romina Gavino and Winona Tee Ten of the University of the Philippines, with the women nearly securing another medal for the country in the Women’s 800m Freestyle relay. The team put up a spirited fight and came close to earning another bronze in the relay event. However, they fell short of the finish against the anchor swimmer of Malaysia, Lai Kwan Chui. As a result, the Philippine women’s team clocked 8:57.40, a mere 1.06 seconds behind third-place finisher Malaysia.
Similarly in the men’s events, rookie Eman Dapat came close to garnering his first medal of the competition, ranking 4th in the 200m Backstroke. Aldo Batungbacal and Giancarlo Silva competed in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke, with Batungbacal finishing at 7th and Silva with an unfortunate disqualification for an extra dolphin kick during his underwater keyhole. Blue Eagles captain Axel Ngui made his only appearance in the Men’s 800m Freestyle Relay, leading fellow tankers Dapat, Batungbacal, and De La Salle University’s Arian Puyo to a fifth-place finish.
With the team tucking another award under their belts in the second day of competition, Coach Archie Lim remains positive that results will arise from a spirited mentality in and out of the pool. Despite the relatively small number of team members being a hindrance in the path to victory, Lim believes that jumping the hurdle with an upbeat attitude could just spell the recipe for success.
“Some of our swimmers have to swim more than most of our competitors, so we’ll just have to keep the kids motivated,” Lim says, “By keeping them fresh, rested and motivated, I’m hoping we can win more medals in the coming days.”
