PUERTO PRINCESA CITY – Making up for its lackluster campaign in swimming, Western Visayas wrapped up three athletics crowns and sent five teams to the finals of ballgames yesterday to shore up its bid for the 2008 Palarong Pambansa overall title here.

With the points system giving ballgame titles more weight than individual gold medals, the region six bets are on track to gain a maximum 125 points from the teams they sent to the championship round.

Their dominance of athletics, which also saw them establish two new meet records, handed them a formidable 90 points, after sweeping the elementary crowns and bagging the secondary girls’ title, where they were led by discus throw record-holder Maika De Oro, triple gold winners Josie Malacad (800m, 1500m, 3000m and Vienna Mae Banebane (400m, 400m hurdles and 200m).

Western Visayas’ assault in the elementary girls’ division was highlighted by Elena Camiring, who smashed the javelin throw record with a 39.63m effort under the drizzle yesterday. It was Camiring’s second gold, after topping the shotput event Wednesday.

NCR, which looks set to rule three of the four divisions in swimming that will mean 90 points in the general championship, topped the secondary boys’ division of athletics with Isidro Del Prado Jr. capturing two golds in the 400m and 800m and a silver in the 200m, where he narrowly lost to Central Visayas’ Lindley Fran Navaja, who underscored his billing as the meet’s fastest athlete by clocking 22.4 for the gold yesterday.

Maureen Schrijver emerged as NCR’s star in athletics as she grabbed three golds and a silver in the elementary girls’ division. The Chinese-Belgian student of St. Stephen High School topped high jump (1.39m) and the 200m (27.4 seconds).

Big City athletes are also in the finals of secondary basketball, secondary girls’ volleyball and secondary baseball, where they downed Central Luzon, 4-1, for the first championship berth.

The Western Visayas high school booters blanked Central Visayas, 2-0, yesterday to earn the twice-to-beat edge in the finals. Also earning a twice-to-beat edge was its elementary baseball and softball teams.

Represented by Asia-Pacific championships-bound team from Bacolod, the WV clouters massacred NCR, 17-0, for the first championship berth in elementary softball. They will meet Northern Mindanao in the finals after Region 10 overpowered NCR, 6-1, in the playoff.

After seeing its long winning streak snapped by first finalist Calabarzon, Western Visayas bounced back by whipping NCR, 12-2, in the secondary softball tournament. The win set up a return meeting with Calabarzon today.

NCR’s high school volleybelles from Hope Christian School, meanwhile, moved on the threshold of the title, after smashing Calabarzon, 25-20, 25-19. They take on Western Visayas, represented by University of St. La Salle , in the finals, after the Region 6 spikers toppled Calabarzon, 26-24, 25-17, 25-12, yesterday.

NCR also hammered Davao , 106-62, to secure the first championship berth in secondary basketball.*Palaro Media Center

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