Iloilo kickboxer beats twin brother to claim ROTC Games gold

University of Iloilo bet Javen Pareja defeated twin brother Jansen via unanimous decision in the men’s 57kg final of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Games Visayas Leg kickboxing competition at the SM Iloilo on Friday.

“Proud po ako sa kanya, maganda po ang naging laban kahit medyo nagkailangan noong una. Kasi nga magkapatid kami. Pero kailangan naming galingan para mabigyan namin ng magandang laban ang mga nanonood (I’m proud of him. It was a good match even though it was a bit difficult at first because we are brothers. But we have to do our best to give the spectators a good fight),” Javen said.

“Ang mahalaga po, nalagpasan namin nang maayos, walang masamang nangyari sa aming dalawa at natuto kami (The important thing is that we got through it well, nothing bad happened to either of us, and we both learned),” he added.

Ariel Ellaga of the University of Antique and Mark Stephen Braganza of Guimaras State University settled for the bronze medals.

The other gold medalists in the Philippine Army category were Jonathan Cadiema of Cebu Technological University (60kg) and Capiz State University students Mar Jeanette Dellomos (52kg), Mikaela Tatiana Tan (56kg) and Daniella Ira Astor (60kg) in the women’s division.

The ROTC Games is a collaboration of the Commission on Higher Education, Department of National Defense, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Meanwhile, Senator Francis Tolentino hopes that the ROTC Games organizers would use the Visayas leg as a benchmark for the Mindanao and Luzon legs.

“Sa tingin ko naman po successful, kasi ito iyong kauna-unahan and we’ve learned a lot of lesson. Para sa pagpunta po doon sa Mindanao leg sa Zamboanga City ay mas lalo pong maisaayos (I think it’s successful, because it’s the first and we’ve learned a lot of lessons. So going to the Mindanao leg in Zamboanga City, it will be more organized),” Tolentino, the brainchild of the tournament, said in an interview with Radyo Pilipinas 2.

“Ang Philippine ROTC Games po ay nagpapakita ng ating pagmamahal sa bayan sa pamamagitan ng sports. Ito ay nagsisimbolo ng patriotism, volunteerism at pagsisilbi para sa ating Inang Bayan kaya kami po na mga ahensya ay nagkakasunod na makilala ito bilang isang respetadong institusyon (The Philippine ROTC Games shows our love for the country through sports. It symbolizes patriotism, volunteerism and service for our Motherland, so we agencies are following each other to recognize it as a respected institution),” he added. (PNA)