Davao tankers win Sarangani Bay festival swim tilt

GENERAL SANTOS CITY--Swimmers from Davao City endured strong waves and the treacherous current of the Sarangani Bay as they topped the famed swim-acrross-the bay competition at the opening of the 2018 Sarangani Bay (SarBay) Festival on Thursday.

The DMMA College of Southern Philippines swimming team clocked 3:12.16 to win over nine other teams in the 15-kilometer relay swim, starting from the shores of Maasim town to Glan in Sarangani Province.

Davaoeños edged Koronadal City’s Swim Team 1 by just 38 seconds, with the latter finishing second at 3:12.54. This city’s Dadiangas Torpedoes placed third at 3:16.

DMMA took the top prize of P50,000 plus medals and trophies while Koronadal-1 and Dadiangas received P35,000 and P25,000, respectively.

The team finishers received P10,000 each as consolation prize.

SarBay’s swim-across-the-bay, which made a comeback this year after taking a break in 2017, is one of most highly-anticipated events of the annual festivity since it was launched in 2006.

Nemrad Butil, event facilitator, said in a statement they were satisfied with the turnout of participants this year.

“We’re happy that despite being cancelled last year, there were a lot of teams that still joined. We even had to turn away some teams because we can no longer handle the logistics,” he said.

Swimmers took off at past 5 a.m. from the designated starting spot at Sarangani Energy Corporation’s (SEC) jetty in Baragay Kamanga in Maasim and swam to the shores of the Beach View Resort in Tango, Glan.

The race course was made more challenging by rolling waves and strong winds hovering over the Sarangani Bay.

“Kailangan mo mag-focus kasi pwede ka dalhin ng waves palayo sa target mo na lugar (You really need to focus as the waves can take you away from the course,” said Thea Canda, who anchored the Dadiangas Torpedoes.

Canda, a bemedalled swimmer and two-time speed record holder for 400m Freestyle in the Palarong Pambansa, was one of the 50 swimmers who successfully hurdled the course.

She was joined by Philippine swimming team member and Southeast Asian games open water swimmer Erica Lukang.

“We joined this event because it looks fun and challenging, and malay niyo maka-recruit kami ng (who knows? we might even recruit) new members para sa (for the) national team,” Lukang said.

This year also saw the debut of the Mlang Torpedoes, the youngest team to ever take part in the Sarangani Bay relay swim.

Mlang’s Dionela Xandra Cubita was officially declared as the youngest finisher at just nine- years-old.

“Medyo nahirapan po ang team namin, pero masaya pa rin kasi natapos namin yung competition kahit last place (It was difficult for our team but we’re happy because we finished the race even at last place),” Cubita said.

This year also saw the debut of the Sarangani Electric Corp. (SEC) swimming team, composed of the company’s security personnel led by their coach, Army Capt. Rey Balibagoso.

SEC, which operates a 210-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Maasim, was one of the corporate sponsors of the competition and SarBay.

Renan Garcia, SEC community relations officer, said the company has been supporting the event as it gets a chance to showcase the beauty of Sarangani Bay.

He said the firm also draws attention to their continuing conservation efforts at the bay in coordination with local stakeholders. (PNA)