Showing the skills while training in Europe, Breanna Labadan totalled 56.70 points after the hoop and ball events to place seventh overall in the individual all-around  qualifiers yesterday at the start of the 14th Senior Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

A bronze medalist in the last 31st Vietnam  Southeast Asian Games,  Labadan, 16, had scores of 28.50 and 28.20 in the hoops and ball, respectively, with the clubs and ribbon remaining in the competition organized by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines.

Cancer survivor and 2019 30th SEA Games gold medalists Daniela dela Pisa, who skipped the hoops, was running 33rd after scoring 23.15 points in the ball event of the tournament supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Competition manager Anna Carreon, however, said that Dela Pisa was still eligible to compete in the all-around finals  since she was still had the  clubs and ribbons on tap today.

“As long as she competes in three events in the qualifiers and finishes among the top 18, Daniela can still compete in the finals,” explained Carreon in the tournament sanctioned by the Asian Gymnastics Union and also supported by Taishan, United Harbor Pilots Ass’n Phils. Inc. Milo and Pocari Sweat. 

The only other local entry in the senior meet, Trisha Mae Montifalcon, scored 20.15 points in her one and only event, the hoops, and was ranked 29th in the meet also backed by Sofitel Hotel and Hotel 101.

Showing the way was Uzbekistan ace Takhmina Ikromova, who was both first in the hoops and ball with identical scores of 33.70 points each for total output of 67.40 points.

She was closely by Kazakhstan’s  Elzhana Tanizyeva (65.10) while compatriot Aibota Yertkayzy was third (62.50) in the competition also supported by PLDT/Smart, Pastorelli, TODA, Lifeline and the Mercato Centrale Group.

During the colorful opening ceremony graced by PSC chairman Richard Bachmann and Asian Gymnastics Union president Ali Al-Hitmi of Qatar, GAP President Cynthia Carrion welcomed the more than 200 athletes from 20 countries competing in the four-day event.

“The competition is a qualifiier for the next world championships set in August in Valencia, Spain, which means that the rhythmic gymnasts present today are the only the best of the countries they represent,” Carrion said.

“I will all of them the best as they compete in the spirit of camaraderie, sportsmanship and fair play,” she stressed.