Lake Buhi Humbles Army, Targets ‘Battle of Champions’ in Bohol

In a thrilling heart-stopper of a dragon boat duel in Candelaria, Zambales, Lake Buhi outpaddled erstwhile conqueror and arch-rival, Army, in both the 200m open sprints and the 400m open middle distance event to stamp its class as the top team in local dragonboating today. The well-focused Lake Buhi paddlers shook off the memories of the loss in Manila Bay recently, and are now training their sights on the prestigious 2nd Cobra-PDBF International Club Crew Challenge in Bohol. The Army team vowed revenge in the upcoming competition in Bohol, totally shocked at the double whammy absorbed in Candelaria.

This is not to say that the spotlight will be on the two teams alone. For the Navy is set to weigh in for the Bohol event with 7 national players in tow, plus bragging rights as the unbeaten rulers of the PCKF races in the past years. Hence, a three-sided dogfight at the sprints and middle distance open event is expected in the 2nd Cobra-PDBF International Club Crew Challenge.

In the women’s 200m sprints and 400m middle distance events, Triton continued to show the way with twin victories over the Coastguard. Coastguard has been slowly improving though, and they are expected to crowd Triton for the crown in the 2nd Cobra-PDBF International Club Crew Challenge in Bohol this April 28-29. The RCP Sea Dragons came in third. Again, the Navy’s entry will make the women’s division an interesting three-cornered fight.

Triton continued their dominance with another win in the 200m mixed event. The Coastguard however turned the tables on the highly-touted Triton team in the 400m mixed. RCP Sea Dragon took the bronze in both distances. In the upcoming Bohol edition, the Navy’s mixed crew will bank on their male internationalists and is favored to rule over Triton and the Coastguard.

With only two weeks to go, the different teams are now training their sights on the big event in Bohol. Billed as the ‘Battle of Champions’, the 2nd Cobra-PDBF International Club Crew Challenge will provide the answer to a long lingering question: who really rules the Philippine dragon boat kingdom? Will the ship-towing Navy sailors hold court in the waters of Bohol? Or will the gods of the sea favor the lightly-regarded, yet equally seaworthy Lake Buhi fisherfolks? And can the Army recover from the twin knockouts it absorbed in Zambales? Will the Coastguard’s steady improvement finally harvest gold in Bohol? Or will the southern challenge from Mindanao, seldom seen in the races in Manila, be able to show us some surprises? This is it, folks!!! The Battle of Champions!!! Are you ready to rumble???

The 2nd Cobra – PDBF International Club Crew Challenge is produced by the Provincial Government of Bohol, the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation, and Tapok Tapok Bol-anon; with Cobra, Philex, the Sandugo Foundation, Smart Philippines and Cetaphil. Co-producing the event are Lj Lumayag of K & N Productions, Bohol Paddlers Association, Tagbilaran City, and the municipalities of Dauis and Maribojoc, Rotary Tagbilaran and Jaycees Bohol.

The major sponsors are: Bluewater Panglao, SunLife, Bellevue Hotel, First Consolidated Bank, TIESA, and Zoocolate Thrills. Other sponsors include: DOT, Oishi, 2Go, AMR, Starlite, Eskaya, Ramasola Studios, Truckworld, Island Prints and Cong Rene Relampagos.

The media partners include: the Manila Bulletin, Sports Digest, Philippine Star, Business Mirror, TV5, Solar Sports, Sports Unlimited, Bohol Chronicle, DYRD and DZRH.

Don’t fail to watch the exciting ‘Battle of Champions’ on April 28-29 in Dauis, Bohol!