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[av_heading heading=’Iloilo sweeps WVRAA football, seizes top spot in medal tally’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By Rhick Lars Vladimer Albay
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Thursday, February 9, 2017
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Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA) Secondary Football champion Team Iloilo pose with their gold medals after their victory on Wednesday at the Binirayan Sports Complex field in Antique.PHOTO BY MARICELLE BRACAMONTE
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SAN JOSE, Antique – With the 2017 Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA) reaching its half-way point on Wednesday, Iloilo claimed a dominant lead in the partial medal tally with 131 amassed in total, as both its Secondary and Elementary football teams sealed championship wins and tickets to the upcoming 2017 National Larong Pambansa.
Both enforced mainly by young Barotac Nuevo spikers, Iloilo’s Secondary and Elementary football squads added gold to the province’s roster with stunning victories at the Binirayan Sports Complex field on Wednesday. The two teams pulled off impressive twin 7-0 sweeps the day before, the High School team dominating Antique, while the Elementary squad made quick work of Capiz.
With the series of victories, Iloilo now boasts 37 gold, 24 silver and 17 bronze medals in the Secondary Level, and 29 gold, 16 silver and 8 bronze in the Elementary events, for 131 in all as of 2:39 p.m. on Wednesday.
WVRAA host Antique is at a far second place in the partial tally with 54 medals for both levels (20 gold, 18 silver, 16 bronze), followed by Capiz with 52 (7 gold, 22 silver, 23 bronze) and Aklan with 50 (11 Gold, 21 silver, 18 bronze). Island-province Guimaras is at last place with 40 medals (5 gold, 8 silver, 27 bronze).
In other events, 12-year-old swimming sensation and recent recipient of the Philippine Sportswriters Association’s Philippine Junior Athlete of the Year plum, Kyla Ong Soguilon claimed her seventh gold medal for Aklan on Wednesday at the Binirayan Swimming Pool.
Iloilo, the defending overall champion, is en route to matching its record 425 medal haul in last year’s WVRAA, with 100 gold, 79 silver and 55 bronze finishes.
Aklan and Capiz are in danger of falling short of their 1st and 2nd runner-up overall finishes in the 2016 Meet, where they took home 184 and 150 medals, respectively.
“Sleeping giant” Antique is poised to improve on its 140-medal fourth-place finish in last year’s WVRAA with a home-court advantage and the upgraded support of its local government headed by Gov. Rhodora Cadiao.
Antique is also slated to host the 2017 Palarong Pambansa from April 23 to 29./PN
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