Getting Lost In Cebu. . .

( A peek at the IPSC'S World Shoot XII )

By DU1COP & 4F1AAR

Getting at the Centennial airport was the first instance when we felt we were lost. "No we are not going abroad!" I told the taxi driver who brought us to this place. "We're just going to Cebu so please just bring us to the domestic airport instead". "Sir, if you're flying PAL to Cebu based on the tickets you're holding, then you are in the right place" said the driver who was now giving us that doubting look as if we were not really residents from Metro Manila.

The title used here can imply a negative impression to some and the authors would like to make it clear that they were actually referring to the beauty and progress of Cebu based on the very short stay they had in the area from Nov. 3 to Nov. 6 to watch the top guns of the world compete.

Ka Roman, who has been here almost five years ago, was well amazed to see what he calls the "Now Cebu". The new buildings sprouting from the reclaimed areas including the Ayala stretch is something we can now readily compare to the typical busy streets of foreign countries. The new bridge for one, is a magnificent architectural piece one can talk about coupled with the newly widened roads connecting all the major places in the area.

And this is what we mean "Getting Lost in Cebu". With more banks, business establishments and luxury vehicles all around us, would you say that this was the same Cebu five years ago?

 On the other hand, knowing Ka Roman and I as hams, it would have been more appropriate to call this:

"What's these two nuts doing at the IPSC's World Shoot XII in Cebu?"

Truth is, that was the reason why we were there. This was a once-in-a-lifetime event that will be held in the country that we believe we should not miss! So here goes for sharing.....

The Philippine Team got almost all the honors on this tour leaving the US Teams (who has performed surprisingly low) second and third on some divisions and a few slots on the individual tally.

Following are more detailed results taken from the Philippine Daily Inquirer's Rafael S. Salas III's Nov. 8 report :

WORLD TOURNEY

RP shooters sweep crown titles

By Rafael S. Alas III PDI Visayas Bureau

LAPULAPU CITY, Mactan--The World Shoot XII ended Saturday with a big bang for the Philippines' top guns, who won the Men's and Women's Open team championships, beating early favorite United States.

RP's Athena Lee and France's Eric Grauffel stood tall when the shooting ceased at the Cebu Pistol and Rifle Association's firing range in this city as they grabbed the top honors in the individual competitions.

Grauffel, a juniors standout, had a total of 1882.1396 points to rule the Men's Open and the Juniors' individual contests.

Lee, a resident of Cagayan de Oro and a student of Mindanao State University-Iligan, logged in 1451.8350 points to win the women's crown, and steer the RP women's team to victory.

Mary Grace Tan, Jannete Gonzaga, Jean Esquera and Lee had a good shooting spree, scoring 4161.7827 points to improve the country's second-place finish in the previous World Shoot in Brazil.

Tan garnered 1430.2970 points, which also placed her at the second place overall in the Women's individual tally, while Gonzaga pitched in 1279.6499 points.

The next best women's team was the United States with 3901.8905. Sheila Brey pulled in 1340.9171 points, Kay Clark-Miculik 1309.1232 and Sharon Edington 1251.8502.

South Africa was third with 3789.4515 points, through Chantal Tam's 1364.9586, Leanie Hennas 1364.9586 and Anita Klein's 1189.1973.

In fourth place was Austria with 3701.0706, fifth was Australia with 3654.9392, sixth was US Silver Lining with 3603.8327 and seventh was Canada with 3149.8451.

Over at the Men's Open, the Philippines scored a big win over the highly favored Americans.

World Champion Jethro Dionesio, Jeufro Lejano and Patrick Marvin Sanchez lifted RP above the rest in the men's team event, accounting for most of the team's 5219.3751 output.

Dionisio, who is also third overall in the Men's Open, scored 1784.1558 points in the 35-stage contest.

Lejano, the second placer in the Juniors' during the World Shoot XI, contributed 1719.1204 points, and Sanchez chipped in 1716.0989 points.

Lejano was sixth in the Men's Open, while Sanchez was eighth.

United States' Standard division team copped second place honors with 5199.9830 points courtesy of Michael Voight (1771.0359 points), Frank William Garcia (1763.0764 points) and Angelo Spagnoli (1665.8707.)

In third place was another US team led by World Shoot XI Open champion Todd Jarret.

The trio scored 5161.1184, with Jarret's 1813.7624 (second best in the individual tally), Robert Leatham's 1704.5984 and Tawn Argeris' 1642.7576.

RP's team for the Standard tilt placed fourth with 5023.8618. The team is composed of Enrico Papa who scored 1693.4665, Robert Tan with 1673.4055 and Luis Lee with 1657.2902.

Other men's team that made it to the top 10 were Italy with 5000.3143 (fifth), Czech Republic with 4952.6326 points (sixth), US Juniors' team with 4784.4896 (seventh), Philippines' Modified team with 4771.1589 (eighth), South Africa's Standard team with 4744.6518 (ninth) and Sweden with 4695.9547 (tenth).

The overall winners in the other divisions are as follows: Juniors'--Grauffel (first), Michel (second), Stephen Hinojales (third) Jimmy Reed (fourth), Frank Cruz (fifth) and Simon Patrick Racaza (sixth);

Women's--Lee (first), Tan (second), Chantal Tam (third), Sheila Brey (fourth) and Kay Clark-Miculik (fifth) and Jannet Gonzaga (sixth);

Standard--Michael Voight (first), Frank William Garcia (second), Adriano Santarcangelo (third), Estrada Gomez (fourth) and Robert Soderstrom (fifth);

Modified--Pancel Jasansky (first), Enrico Papa (second), Roland Tan (third), Roberto Vezzoli (fourth) and Luis Lee (fifth).

Action photos here courtesy of CRPA Web Site for the Worldshoot XII, http://www.worldshootcebu.com/

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