PASAY CITY—Despite rousing cheers from a hometown crowd, Filipina juniors Elizabeth Antone, Maxine Bondoc and Jellian Bantilan fell short of qualifying for the finals of the FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships late Friday at the Manila Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom inside Newport World Resorts.
Competing under the spotlight and in front of a predominantly Filipino audience, the trio showed flashes of promise but couldn’t shake off nerves, finishing outside the cut in both the team and individual all-around qualifiers.
Antone, who bagged all-around bronze in the Asian Junior Championships in Jecheon, South Korea, last June, struggled to find her usual rhythm and slipped to 37th place with 47.632 points in the meet backed by the Office of the President, Philippine Sports Commission, and PAGCOR. She tallied 12.600 (vault), 11.366 (uneven bars), 11.533 (balance beam), and 12.133 (floor) across four apparatuses, missing the top-24 cutoff for Saturday’s all-around final.
Bondoc emerged as the next best Filipino in 91st place with 41.299 points, followed by Bantilan in 107th with 39.199 in the tournament, also supported by Smart/PLDT, Milo, Pocari Sweat, Sen. Pia Cayetano, and Cignal TV as official broadcaster.
“I am a little disappointed, and I know that I could have done better,” Antone admitted. “I just want to improve for next time. Compared to the Asian juniors in Korea, this was a bit compressed, and the arena felt different.”
Bondoc, the youngest at 13, endured the toughest moment of the night after falling twice on the uneven bars and earning her lowest score of 8.933. She broke down afterward, comforted by reserve teammate Sabina Tayag.
But Bondoc showed resilience minutes later at the mixed zone. “I was really nervous because this is something I really worked hard for,” she said. “If I do my routines right, I know I can do really well.”
Tayag said she simply wanted to lift her teammate’s spirits. “She has been working very hard, so making a mistake like that can be dispiriting. I just wanted to show her I cared.”
Tokyo Olympian Emma Malabuyo, serving as one of the broadcast analysts, empathized with the young gymnasts. The event also drew support from Sen. Pia Cayetano, Philippine Airlines as official carrier, and St. Luke’s Medical Center as official medical provider.
“One of my favorite quotes is ‘to keep on swimming,’” Malabuyo said. “Even though you’ve made mistakes, it’s not the end of the world. This is all about gaining experience and learning to handle pressure better. It just means going back to the gym and working a little bit more.”
