By Edwin Rollon
CAPAS, Tarlac – Youth and experience converged dominantly as junior internationalists Kyla Bulaga and Aishel Evangelista spearheaded another wave of record-worthy performances on Saturday in the penultimate round of the 2026 National Long Course Age-Group Championships at the New Clark City Aquatics Center.
Bulaga, 16, continued her remarkable run by completing a five-medal haul, reaffirming her status as one of the country’s brightest young stars. The youngest member of the Philippine team in last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, she topped the girls’ 16-year 200-meter individual medley in 2:28.52 and dominated the grueling 1500m freestyle in 18:23.35.
“I’m really happy with my performance because all the hard work in training is paying off,” said Bulaga. “My goal here is to stay consistent and improve my times as I prepare for international competitions.”
She outclassed Stracey Bee (2:44.04) in the IM and Eliana Isabel Rodriguez (18:56.68) in the 1500m, strengthening her bid for the Most Outstanding Swimmer honors in her division.
“I just focus on my own race and give my best every time I dive into the pool,” she added.
Her golden campaign began on opening day, where she ruled the 200m butterfly (2:25.78), 200m breaststroke (2:43.18), and her pet event, the 800m freestyle (9:44.99), showcasing both versatility and endurance.
Evangelista, meanwhile, proved just as formidable in the boys’ 16-year category, delivering a pair of hard-fought victories. The University of Santo Tomas standout captured the 1500m freestyle in 17:10.99, narrowly edging Zyrhed Pajas (17:13.87), before dominating the 200m freestyle in 1:58.89 ahead of Bernet Gonzaga (2:03.74) and Mark Africano (2:06.63).
He earlier struck gold in the 200m breaststroke (2:33.86), underscoring his consistency across multiple disciplines.
The three-day meet, backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Speedo, and the MVP Sports Foundation, serves as a crucial selection ground for the national team set to compete in international tournaments, including the Southeast Asian Age-Group Championships in Singapore.
In the 19-and-over division, Southeast Asian Games standout Xiandi Chua continued her winning streak, capturing her second gold medal in the women’s 200m freestyle (2:06.37), beating veteran Mishka Sy (2:14.30). She earlier dominated the 100m freestyle in 58.59 seconds, ahead of Trixie Ortiguerra (59.77) and Quendy Fernandez (1:00.92).
Fellow SEA Games campaigner Jasmine Mojdeh also impressed, securing her third gold medal in the 50m butterfly (28.50) and 200 Individual Medley (2:27.29) after previously ruling the 800m freestyle (9:27.55), beating Rio Balbuena (10:17.23) and Dianne Cruz (10:21.85).
On the men’s side, Albert Amaro delivered a standout performance with victories in the boys’ 19-year 200m backstroke (1:53.52) and the 50m butterfly (24.72), adding depth to the meet’s growing list of multi-gold performers.
For the complete results, visits Philippine Aquatics, Inc. official website www.philippineaquatics.com and facebook page.
