The roads of Baguio City shone like gold on Sunday afternoon.
The champions of Team Lakay were honored with a parade last Sunday, December 2.
Members of the world champion martial arts stable took to the streets of Baguio City in a motorcade to celebrate their achievements in 2018.
“We are just normal citizens of Baguio City with big dreams,” expressed ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang. “We worked hard to achieve our goals and now we’re here. We believe the Cordilleran can compete with anyone in the world and we have what it takes to be the best in our chosen field. Hard work and dedication is all it takes to achieve success.”
“We always say at Team Lakay that champions are not born, they are made. But we were made because of the people of Baguio City,” added ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje Eustaquio.
This year has been a banner year for the Baguio-based stable.
Geje Eustaquio started it all off by stunning Adriano Moraes to unify the Flyweight Championship back in June. Joshua Pacio followed up with a masterful performance against Yoshitaka Naito to bag the Strawweight crown. Kevin Belingon then eked out a split-decision win over Bibiano Fernandes to become the Bantamweight kingpin.
Folayang capped their spectacular year by winning back the Lightweight championship.
Outside of ONE, their team member Stephen Loman also successfully defended his Brave Bantamweight crown last October.
“Thank you everyone for all the support and prayers. It’s a happy time in Baguio City, where we can celebrate all our victories as one. This isn’t just our triumphs, but also the triumph of the entire Cordilleras,” shared Pacio.
“I just want to thank everyone for the support. It means a lot to the team, and it means a lot to me,” added Belingon.
The motorcade started at SM City Baguio and ended at People’s Park.
