LAOAG, Ilocos Norte – Ilongga Eda Mae Arceo secured her second gold medal in the 2025 Palarong Pambansa on Thursday at the Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium here.
The Carles Central Elementary School standout emerged on top in the elementary girls 400-meter hurdles to add up to her earlier gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles in the week-long competition.
“I am very happy and fulfilled with her performance,” said Arceo’s head coach Leone Tiosayco. “I told her before the race that I am confident that she can win it since the other contingents are beatable.”
Ilongga Trixia Anne Arellano earns her second gold medal in Palaro as she topped the elementary girls 100-meter dash, adding to her previous gold in the 200-meter dash event.
Negrense Mico Villaran, on the other hand, completed a three-peat in the secondary boys 400-meter hurdles event with a record-setting performance of 53.52 seconds.
Villaran, who also had a gold medal three-peat in the 110-meter hurdles, prevailed over NCR’s Ivan Cabanda (54 seconds) and Julius Ceazar Valdenarrio of Region IV-A (54.96 seconds).
Aklanon Neyo Reyes Sarabia also contributed a silver medal for Western Visayas in the secondary boys shot put event.
Meanwhile, Western Visayas secondary girls volleyball team, represented by Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts, reached the semis with a 25-12, 27-25 victory over Region X.
Rhose Viane Almendralejo finished with 23 points, built on 17 attacks and six service aces, to be named Player of the Game for the two-time defending champions WV.
Western Visayas secondary boys basketball team, powered by St. Robert’s International Academy Panda Rockets, pulled off a massive 76-67 upset over National Capital Region in the knockout quarterfinals.
WV team manager Eugene Chua shared that dethroning NCR was a huge achievement for his team, but they hope to complete their run in the week-long competition.
“Of course our goal is the gold,” Chua said. “Very huge win but we cannot settle for this. We went here in Palaro with an aim of winning the championship, and hopefully we can complete the job.”/PN
