By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Iloilo Mark V. Pinggol (MVP) taekwondo gym wrapped up another national event with a tremendous finish after making waves in the National CPJ Taekwondo Championships on March 23-24, 2024, at the Ayala Malls Bay, Manila.
After two days of intense taekwondo action, the Ilonggo jins from the MVP gym bagged a total of six medals: one gold and five bronze medals.
Winning the lone gold medal for the Iloilo MVP gym was Sophia Marie Bautista who dominated the sparring event cadet category.
After Bautista’s gold medal finish, Eujene Ivanka Castete capped off Iloilo MVP’s first-day campaign with a bronze medal in the same event.
On Day 2, the Iloilo MVP gym quickly added another bronze medal after the pair of Nathan Lee Dedal and Jenella Ashley Tionko did well in the mixed pair cadet category.
Aside from the Iloilo-based MVP students, several Manila-based jins who are still representing the Pinggol-mentored gym also flaunted their skills in the national tournament.
Leading the way was Joshua Cachero of the University of the Philippine Diliman who earned a bronze medal in the poomsae senior team male category.
Following the footsteps of Cachero was Jhed Anthony Morata from the Emilio Aguinaldo College who also bagged bronze in the kyorugi seniors category.
Last but not the least, Katrina Mamaril, also from Emilio Aguinaldo, took home their last bronze medal in the same category.
Special mentions who fought their hearts out on the national stage were Alyana Julienne Tionko and Andria Margaret Palabrica.
