CAPAS, Tarlac — Miguel Barreto came out on top of a thrilling race in the men’s 200-meter freestyle to highlight the second day of the 2021 Philippine Swimming, Inc. National Selection, Saturday at the New Clark City Aquatic Center here.
The 30th Southeast Asian Games campaigner got the better of national teammate Sacho Ilustre after a strong finish with a time of 1:56.74. Marco Daos came in second, taking over Ilustre at the touch with 1:59.10 against the latter’s 1:59.29.
Barreto, an Ayala Harpoons Swim Club standout, could have made it a double for the day if not for an unfortunate disqualification in the day’s last event — the 400-meter individual medley.
Instead, it was Ted Laminta of Ace Seawolves who garnered his second win of the meet after he finished with a time of 4:49.00, over Joshua Del Rio’s 5:01.04.
“Yung kahapon, expected ko malapit sa best time. Okay naman yung feeling,” Barreto, an 18-year-old Bulacan native, said. “Pero nothing to expect naman kasi wala namang training. So ngayon, enjoy lang, have fun.”
Xiandi Chua finally got a taste of competition after being the sole competitor in the women’s 200-meter individual medley yesterday, finishing with the fastest time of 2:09.17 in the 200-meter freestyle — ahead of Chloe Daos’ 2:11.66.
Young upstarts Thanya Dela Cruz and Camille Buico clinched their second win in as many days as they topped the women’s 100-meter breaststroke and 50-meter butterfly, respectively.
Ayala Harpoon’s Dela Cruz barely missed another national record with 1:11.28, just 0.36 seconds shy of Desirae Mangaoang’s record of 1:10.92. Meanwhile, Rising Atlantis SC’s Buico smoked the field with a 28.69-second conquest of her event.
Jordan Lobos took the surprise win in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke over favorites Sam Alcos and Rian Marco Tirol. The 18-year-old from BEST Main pulled off with 1:04.66, while Alcos and Tirol touched 1:05.84 and 1:05.96, respectively.
Seb Wong of QC Buccaneers SC continues to surprise the competition when he clinched the win in the men’s 50-meter butterfly with 25.67 seconds. Ilustre this time came in second at 26.40, barely ahead of Marcus De Kam’s 26.50.
John Niel Paderes came up with his second win as well, finishing first in the men’s 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:14.94. Gianna Garcia took care of the two-way race on the women’s side with 2:33.96 over Keneily Trinidad’s 2:45.71.
Michaela Mojdeh, 15 years old and from BEST Main, got a win when she took the 400-meter individual medley win over Garcia, 5:23.63 against 5:38.73.
Hannah Sanchez got the better of Mojdeh in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle with 18:55.97 against the latter’s 18:58.71, yesterday.
The selection meet, which is backed by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), and the Clark Development Corporation (CDC), will mark its third and final day on Sunday.
