Jose Jerry Belibestre of Romanito Maravilla National High School in Barangay Estefania, Bacolod City, gifted the Western Visayas delegation its first gold medal yesterday in secondary boys' long jump of the 2014 Palarong Pambansa in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

Belibestre leaped to a distance of 7.08 meters to capture the gold while fellow WV athlete Jerremay Rubias of Aklan settled for the bronze in secondary girls' javelin throw with a distance of 88.06 meters.

Rubias, who won the gold last year in Dumaguete City, bowed to Zeanne Cabrera of CALABARZON (Region IV-A), who won the gold with a distance of 40.31 meters, while Monica Louise Andaya of the National Capital Region grabbed the silver with her 39.36-meter mark.

In secondary boys' long jump, Belibestre edged Martin James Esteban and Erson Jay Osoteo, both from Central Luzon (Region III), who settled for silver and bronze, respectively.

Belibestre and Rubias were among the 472 elementary and secondary athletes from Western Visayas who are in Laguna for the May 4 to 10 school-based national games.

In last year's national Palaro held in Dumaguete, Region VI placed second behind NCR both in the elementary and secondary divisions.

NCR captured a total of 43 gold medals in elementary and 71 in secondary, while W. Visayas won 27 in elementary and 51 in secondary.

Thirteen of the gold medals bagged by Region VI in elementary and 14 in secondary came from athletics, several of them courtesy of the Negrense tracksters.

While the 2014 edition of the Palarong Pambansa is yet to have its opening ceremony today, competitions started yesterday in various events with six gold medals at stake in athletics.*NAB

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