TEAM PHILIPPINES— composed of mainly the Blue and Lady Eagles— opened its campaign in the swimming competition of the 18th ASEAN University Games with an impressive three-medal record on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at the OCBC Aquatic Center in Singapore.

Blue Eagles Axel Ngui, Giancarlo Silva, Aldo Batungbacal, Ariana Herranz, Hannah Dato and Romina Gavino suited up in representation of the country— along with Green Archer Arian Puyo and Fighting Maroons Nadine Tee Ten and Joy Rogers.

Reigning University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Most Valuable Player, Dato, bagged all three of the country’s bronze medals.The veteran swimmer maintained a strong performance throughout her preliminary rounds, eventually garnering a third place finish in the finals of the women’s 400-meter individual medley, the women’s 100-meter freestyle, and the women’s 200-meter butterfly. Dato competed alongside fellow Lady Eagle and UAAP Season 78 Rookie of the Year Romina Gavino, who placed 6th in the 400m individual medley and 5th in the 200m butterfly.

Meanwhile, Aldo Batungbacal and Eman Dapat competed in both the men’s 400-meter individual medley and the 1500-meter freestyle. They garnered 6th and 7th finishes in the medley event and 5th and 6th place in the long-distance freestyle event, respectively. Giancarlo Silva swam in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke, earning a 7th place finish, while UAAP Season 77 Rookie of the Year Ariana Herranz ranked 4th in the women’s 50-meter backstroke. Ateneo Blue Eagles Team Captain Axel Ngui represented the country in the 100-meter freestyle and the 50-meter backstroke, where he ranked 5th and 7th, respectively.

Coach Archie Lim expressed both satisfaction with the day’s results and pride in his players, acknowledging that although this year’s university games house a much tougher level of competition than in previous years, the Philippines is definitely a major contender.

“This year’s edition of the AUG has some very strong opponents,” he says, “but with our swimmers we’re hoping that we can still sneak in a few medals.”