Newly crowned world no. 2 pole vaulter Obiena shares global feat with Filipinos

By Randy Caluag

THE Philippines’ pride in Ernest John Obiena was preparing for a big pole vault event in Monaco when he received the news about his elevation to the world’s no. 2 ranking and immediately took to social media to share his accomplishment with his team and compatriots back home.

“This is not just my accomplishment alone, but everyone’s. Maraming salamat Pilipinas sa pagkakataon na iwagayway ang iyong diwa,” Obiena posted on his official page.

“Thank you to everyone who made this possible and my deepest gratitude to those who went to war so that I could continue this dream.” leadership and experience that the team needs, and so does Annis, who top-scored for the Filipinas in their clash with Taipei. McDaniel, as a goalkeeper, has made excellent saves that have carried the Filipinas out of tough spots.

Obiena moved up to the no. 2 with accumulated points of 1,432 and has overtaken American Chris Nilsen, who fell to no. 3 with 1,428 points.

World Champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden remains at the top with 1,569 points. Sam Kendricks of the U.S. and Thiago Braz are ranked 4th and 5th, respectively.

Rounding up the Top 10 are Bo Kanda LIata Baehre of Germany at no. 6; no. 7 Renauld Lavillene of France; no. 8 Sondre Guttormsen of Norway; no. 9 Kurtiss Marschall of Austria and no. 10 KC Lightfoot of the U.S.

Obiena will face them again in Monacao’s Meeting Herculis EBS for a leg of the Diamond League starting Friday (Saturday PH time).

Obiena is coming off a successful stint in the Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok, Thailand where he defended his title and posted a new tournament record of 5.91 meters, breaking the old 5.71 he himself set four years ago in Qatar. The last time Obiena was in Monaco was in August 2022 where he submitted 5.70 meters for the bronze medal in the Diamond League.

Duplantis, the current world record holder (6.18 meters), won the gold after clearing 6.00 meters.

Batangas, Bacolod, Rizal whip

MPBL foes

BATANGAS cruised past Oriental Mindoro while Bacolod and Rizal foiled their rivals in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Showing depth and power, the Batangas City Embassy chill Athletics dumped the Oriental Mindoro Disiplinados, 98-70, to raise their record to 15-4 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament. The Bacolod Maskaras wasted a 20-point spread, but held on to a 95-91 victory over the Sarangani Marlins in the second game, followed by the Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers’ 78-69 conquest of the Negros Muscovados.

Firmly in control, the Athletics deployed the full complement of their 15-player roster, all of whom contributed two points or more.

Mark Justine Dela Virgen scored 14 while CJ Isit and Jeckster Apinan added 9 each for the Athletics, who dominated the boards, 50-35, en route to 44 points inside the paint.

Mindoro dropped to 3-17 despite the 21-point, 9-assist, 6-rebound, 3-steal effort of Agem Miranda.

Bacolod pulled away, 76-56, at the start of the fourth quarter, but dropped its guard and allowed Sarangani to knot the count at 88 following backto-back triples by Jeff Comia and John Paul Cauilan.

Fortunately for Bacolod, Domark Matillano drove through and Valandre Chauca drilled in a triple with 11 seconds left to lift the Maskaras to an 8-12 slate, the same as the Marlins.