PHL dragon boat team dominate early, book finals berths

The new boats are all right. Right after acquiring state of the art Kevlar boats in time for the competition, the Philippine Dragon Boat team clocked in with the fastest times in their respective heats in their first three events to reach the final rounds at the 2012 World Dragon Boat Championships in Idroscalo, Italy on Thursday.

 

The team started its campaign at the Senior Men's 500m 10-man event. Racing in Heat 2 with Poland, Hungary, Sweden, and host country Italy, the Filipinos paddled for a 2:17,728 finish, well ahead of second-placer Poland who finished at 2:20,133.

 

Next for the Nationals was the Senior Mixed 500m 20-man event, where they barely edged the Czech Republic. The Philippines clocked in at 1:54,137 while Czechs came close second at 1:54,815.

 

The last event for the Philippines was the Senior Mixed 500m 10-man event, where the country came in at 2:22,521, while the Czech Republic finished second with the time of 2:23,864.

 

With the three wins, the Philippines secured a spot at the medal rounds.

 

“Personally, I have very high hopes for this team because they have trained well together,” said head coach Len Escollante.

 

The Philippines will need all the rest on Thursday as the final races for all three events will be held on Friday.

 

It's a full schedule for the Filipinos, as the team is still scheduled to compete in Men's and Mixed 2000m and 200m races in both 10-man and 20-man squads on Saturday and Sunday. — ELR, GMA News