AAK Davao to next play in Malaysia

AFTER its superb performance in the Adidas Cup 2012, the highly fancied Association for the Advancement of Karatedo (AAK) Davao team is now preparing for the fourth SK Cup slated on February 2-3 next year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This was bared by AAK Davao branch chief and head instructor Rommel Tan at the weekly SCOOP of the Royal Mandaya Hotel lastTuesday.
“That is one of the reasons why my players are winning because of their constant exposure aside from their regular training and hard work,” said Tan, a former RP national team and coach.
Tan, however, brought also his newcomers in the Adidas Cup (which had two teams from Japan) who contributed to their total winnings of 7 golds, 8 silvers and 8 bronze medals.
Seven-year old Alexa Barnes emerged as the most outstanding player of the AAK Davao team as she bagged two gold medals both in the girls 6-7 kumite and kata events.
Her eldest sister and idol Kassandra also took one gold in the girls cadets intermediate kata category and a bronze medal in kumite. Their other sister Oona, also a veteran international player like Kassandra, pocketed two silvers in the girls' 10-11 intermediate kata and kumite.
The other gold medalists were skipper Arthur “Chinno” Lao III (boys junior open kata), Rick David Aquino (6-7 intermediate boys kata), Darlene Maramara (12-13 girls novice kumite) and Pavel Jervic Bacayo (boys juniors +68 kgs. Kumite).
Lao, this year’s So Kim Cheng Sports Awards most outstanding male karateka, also won a silver in the below 61 kgs. Kumite, while Bacayo also got a silver in kata.
The other silver medalists were Angelica Noro (junior -54 kg. Kumite), Vivian Cortes (cadets girls intermediate kata), Mary Ann Pilarte (juniors girls kata) and Denzel Maramara (cadets boys novice kata).
SKC top female karate awardee Carmela Maria Estarija led the eight bronze medal haul with two medals to her credit by winning them in the cadets below 47 kg. Kumite and cadets open kata. 
Kassandra, a top honor student of Davao Christian High School, also bagged a bronze medal in cadets 14-15 yrs. Old below 54 kgs. Girls kumite while the other bronze medalists were Danya Paquil (cadets novice kata and girls -47 kg. Kumite), Denzel Maramara (cadets +68 kg. Kumite), Noro (junior girls kata) and Pilarte (junior girls +54 kg. Kumite). 
“Out of my 15 players, only two were not able to win a medal, but those two did not bowed out immediately,” said Tan referring to Manuel Sy (semifinals) and John Paul Ponce (quarterfinals). 
Tan, who was assisted by coaches Jeofrey Albarico and Dodong Bacalla, also thanked the parents, who gave their all-out moral and financial support to their children especially during the competition. In fact, some of the parents had joined the trip in Manila.
“In the past tournaments, its was all the parents plus the support of my friends and some private companies,” Tan bared.
One of the parents, who was also present at the SCOOP, said that “the city government has never supported the sport ever since”.
Almost all of the players were present at the weekly public service sports program together with their parents. All of them attributed their superb performance because of their “constant practice and of their coaches”.
The 18-man AAK Davao team also attended in Manila the free kumite seminar conducted by Shin Tsukii, a former Philippine karate team coach and mentor of the Jose Rizal University Gym. They later paid a courtesy call to Philippine Sports Commission Executive Director Atty. Guillermo Iroy Jr. at the RMSC Complex.
LITO DELOS REYES