By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Iloilo Mark V. Pinggol (MVP) taekwondo gym once again turned heads on the national stage after capping off the Visayas Age Group Championships tournament with a dominant finish from August 17 to 18, 2024, held in Cebu City.
After wrapping up their previous trips to Manila and other local tournaments around Western Visayas on a high note, the star jins of the Iloilo MVP gym picked up where they left off and bagged a total of 14 gold medals in four different categories.
Kicking off the prestigious taekwondo event was kyorugi, where a total of seven gold medals were taken home by the Ilonggos.
Alexis Robles, Ivanka Geollegue Castete, Graciela Gulmatico, Duncan Kyle Rivera, Adenny Lourl Rivera, Adrian Joseph Gajasan III, and Hertzela Avril Sinoy led the way for the Iloilo MVP gym for the gold medals in kyorugi.
Meanwhile, in the poomsae individual event, Nathan Lee Dedal, Kylie Ellise Olivares, Rhyden Uri Figueroa, Ma. Arabella Dayata, and Duncan Kyle Rivera increased the gold medal tally for the Iloilo MVP gym.
Aside from both kyorugi and poomsae, the Ilonggos also flaunted their skills in the team event and the freestyle poomsae category where they also delivered golden performances.
For the team event, the trio of Nathan Lee Dedal, Sirhc Einreb Damaolao, and Xian Jaiden Bayasca out-performed the other participating regions to become the champions.
Last but not the least, in the freestyle poomsae category, Adrian Joseph Gajasan III came out on top and displayed a performance for the ages in Cebu.
During the awarding ceremony, the Iloilo MVP gym was hailed as the first runner-up in the poomsae category and second runner-up in kyorugi.
Other notable jins who bagged the silver and bronze medals are Alleinna Nestley Gajasan, Alexander Niccolo Gajasan, Aiyanna Jade Espina, Sophia Marie Bautista, Joel Alexander Caña, Jan Emmanuele Dayata, Zia Xabriel Gebucion, Fritzjerald Encanto, Xian Jaiden Bayasca, Melben Raljan Elueso, Jan Emmanuele Dayata, Maczen Rea, Nicah Jane Robles, and Amber Gale Abellar.
Way to go and continue to soar, Iloilo MVP jins!
