An undermanned Philippine Army Dragon Boat Team (PADBT) brought another honor to the country when it won the gold in the recent inter-military dragon boat competition held in Indonesia.
Maj. Harold Cabunoc, the Army spokesman, said the PADBT bested 15 other teams, including Myanmar, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Laos, Taiwan, Burma, and Australia.
Cabunoc noted that Indonesia is a powerhouse team in Southeast Asia (SEA) and was the strongest rival of the Philippine team in the 2005 SEA Games.
“The Cherifer Premium-powered Philippine Army Dragon Boat Team set a record of three minutes and 36.39 seconds finishing on the lead. Right behind it are two Indonesian teams Marwitim Surabaya and Dolphin Marinir Jakarta at 03:39:73 and 03:40:04, respectively,” said Cabunoc.
The Army spokesman added it was the PADBT’s first foray abroad.
“Their first campaign abroad was not an easy one. In a coincidence, the team left on a Friday the 13th, which brings ‘bad luck’ according to superstitious beliefs.
Problems with flight schedule left the team no choice but to compete with only eight paddlers against 10 in the small boat division during the quarterfinals,” according to Cabunoc.
PADBT member PFC Ramie Llano said that they got some help from the Indonesian teams who had spare athletes.
“Since it is allowed under the IDBF rules, we borrowed two athletes to act as steersman and drummer. We paddled with only eight members and prayed that our strength can compensate for the lack of two paddlers,” he said.
Llano said they exerted all remaining strengths, struggling to advance to the semis while awaiting for their teammates “who were stuck in a place about an hour away by plane.”
Llano added, “few minutes before gun start during their race for the finals the next morning, reinforcements from the rest of the team came in the nick of time, boosting their strength all the more to grab the gold.”
Source: Manila Bulletin
Photos : (ellentordesillas.com)
