GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- After delivering nine gold medals last year, Soccsksargen’s arnis team made a strong opening statement in the 2018 Palarong Pambansa with two golds at the start of the games on Monday.
Palaro veterans Princes Sheryl Valdez and Andrei Fritz Justine Alcarioto topped the Anyo Individual Single Weapon events at the San Vicente gym in Vigan City en route to the twin gold medals.
The duo’s impressive performances placed the Soccsksargen Regional Athletic Association (SRAA) in the gold medal column, after initially getting two bronze medals in athletics.
Team trainer Romer Buenavente credited the twin golds to the enhanced conditioning and preparation training adopted by SRAA for this year’s Palaro.
“They were clearly better prepared and more confident,” he said.
Valdez, who won three golds last year, wants to make a repeat of her feat this year in her remaining individual and team events.
She will defend the golds in team Anyo-Double Identical Weapon, team Espada y Daga and individual Espada y Daga.
Alcarioto’s gold medal on Monday was his first in individual play after winning three medals in team events last year.
Buenavente, who was former Palaro gold medalist, said they strictly followed the training program formulated and introduced by Olympian and Southeast Asian Games gold medallist Henry Dagmil.
Dagmil, who hails from South Cotabato, is SRAA's overall training manager in the last three years.
“We made a huge turnaround with our training program this year. Hopefully, it will translate to more gold medals,” he said.
Buenavente said he was told that other regions are currently watching the team, which is considered as among the top favorites to win the arnis championship this year.
Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima, uses stick, knife, sword or bare hands for fighting and defense. It was declared in 2009 as the country’s national martial art and sport.
Buenavente was part of the SRAA inaugural arnis team when it was introduced as a regular sport in the 2009 Palaro in Tacloban City.
The region, then represented by arnisadores from Tacurong City, won the arnis overall championship and dominated the sport in the next three years.
But a number of challenges later hit the team and it was forced to watch the other regions shine from the sidelines.
“We’ve been working hard and really focused to regain the championship,” Buenavente added.(HST/PNA)
