LINGAYEN --- Western Visayas is poised to retain its overall championship after sending its men and women's volleyball squads into the finals of the National Private Schools and Athletics Association Games that closes today at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center here.

WV's campaign yesterday was highlighted by the sepak takraw's team decisive win over second-running Southern Mindanao, 21-12, 21-13; 21-19, 21-12, in the finals worth six golds.

Miguel Arsenio Ruiz took the lone gold for Western Visayas in men's taekwondo yesterday after he ruled the middleweight division, while Catherine Samonte was the only gold medallist for Region VI in the women's category by reigning supreme in the welterweight class.

Gabriel Arnigo and Jorge Lotas added two silvers in the medal count of Western Visayas when they placed second in the finweight and featherweight categories, respectively, of the men's division. Reuvelle Dela Rama bagged a silver in the women's finweight class.

Bronze medallists for Region VI --- all in the women's category --- were Rosetal Venus Dela Rama (flyweight), Jennilyn Palama (bantamweight) and J-ann Ermeo (lightweight).

NCR snared the top honors in the men's division with six golds, while Central Luzon ruled the women's category with two golds.

After losing the first regu, the Southern Mindanao takraw players stormed to an 18-14 lead in the first set of the second regu and seemed to be on their way to a momentum shift, before Gary John Apuhin, a student at the University of St. La Salle, engineered a 7-1 spurt by Western Visayas to end the first set of the second regu.

The sepak takraw squad of Region VI then capitalized on the mistakes of Southern Mindanao squad to wrap up the title in the second set.

"There is no greater feeling that this (winning the title). I'm very very proud for the team, myself and the whole contingent," Western Visayas coach Lilybeth Castor, who broke down into tears after the conquest, said.

Composing the title-winning takraw squad were La Sallians Archibald Mueda, Julius Tingson, Raymond Questa, Archel Blancada, Apuhin, Jezzmar Osano and Sherwin Perez. Also with the team were Leonardo Lumawag Jr. of the Central Philippines University and Visayan Maritime Academy Student Conrad Villamor.

The Region VI men's volleyball team, bannered by standouts from the Iloilo Doctor's College, rallied past Central Visayas yesterday, 27-29, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24, for a seat in the championship match, while the Western Visayas volleybelles breezed to a 25-18, 25-23, 25-19 win over the women's volleyball squad of Central Visayas.

Southern Mindanao also sent its baseball, women's volleyball and women's basketball teams to the championship matches today to forge a tight race with Western Visayas in the overall medal race.

The Roger Banzuela-mentored Region VI lady spikers will take on Southern Mindanao in the championship match that will determine the National PRISAA Games overall winner at 9 a.m. today.

If Region VI will emerge victorious in women's volleyball, equivalent to six golds, it will have a total of 70 golds which means that Southern Mindanao will only have a maximum of 65 golds even if it wins the baseball and men's volleyball competitions.

The Southern Mindanao contingent needs to win all of its three championship games today to dislodge the Western Visayas delegation in the overall medal count.

A sweep would mean 20 golds for Southern Mindanao and a total of 71 gilts in the medal race, ahead of Region VI's 64, given if it will not win any of its finals bid.

The Western Visayas contingent also added eight gold medals yesterday to its coffers after retaining its sepak takraw title equivalent to six golds and bringing home two golds in the taekwondo hostilities.

On Thursday, Ruby Longno of the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos claimed a gold for Western Visayas in the women's singles of table tennis, while the Region VI badminton team won five golds after topping the men's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

It was a different story though for Region VI in basketball yesterday as its men and women's squads bowed to their National Capital Region counterparts in their respective semifinal clashes.

The Western Visayas men's basketball team suffered a 75-76 setback to powerhouse NCR, represented by the University of Sto. Tomas, at the Astrodome in Dagupan City, while the Lemuel Ledesma-mentored Region VI cagebelles bowed to defending champion Southern Mindanao, 40-47. With 42 seconds left in the game and NCR leading 76-75, Severino Baclao, a standout from West Negros College, missed to crucial free throws that would have given Region VI the win in a tightly-contested ballgame with no team having more than a five-point lead. *CIT

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