Final Day of the Provincial Tournament – Daet, Camarines Norte
Time slowed.
Cheers echoed. Sweat dripped. Every aching limb, every cry—it all built to this.
But this wasn't the summit.
This was the gate.
Only the best earned the right to move forward.
Next stop: Regionals—the proving ground before Nationals, the brightest stage in Philippine high school sports.
🏸 Badminton Finals: Alona vs. Clarisse — The Grudge Rematch
The court felt like a cage. The air was tight with tension.
Alona stood alone.
Across from her, Clarisse Valerio of St. Francis Academy: elegant, poised, ruthless. A ballerina with a blade.
Coach Cely's voice sliced through the buzz.
"Be bold. Be unpredictable. And breathe."
Set 1: 17–21
Clarisse danced through rallies. Her footwork was poetry. Her smashes—final.
Alona chased ghosts, unraveling point by point.
Set 2: 21–19
Something shifted.
Not anger—clarity.
She stopped reacting—and started composing.
Cross-court drops. Smash feints. Deceptive flicks.
Clarisse cracked, just for a breath—and Alona seized it.
Final point: a drop that barely kissed the net.
The shuttle fell in. Alona roared. A rare, guttural joy.
Her team leapt up.
Final Set: 19–21
A duel.
Clarisse hammered the backline. Alona floated returns on instinct.
Each point was a sword stroke.
19–19.
Then—a wide lift. Unforced error.
Match point.
Clarisse rose. Smash to the far right.
Alona dove—
Too late.
The shuttle struck hardwood like a gavel.
Silence.
She lay still, staring at the lights.
Coach Cely knelt beside her, firm hand on her shoulder.
"You played your best match yet."
Clarisse walked over. "I don't want to go to Regionals alone."
Alona blinked. "Wait—what?"
Coach Cely smiled.
"They're sending the top two. You're going."
Alona burst into tears—not from defeat, but overwhelming relief.
In the crowd, Dane stood, clapping with quiet pride.
"That's my girl."
🏀 Basketball Bronze Match: Gubat vs. Masbate Tech
The boys stepped into the lion's den.
Masbate Tech was a fortress—tall, fast, ruthless. The score was ugly early: 20–9.
Coach Dan pulled Dane aside.
"This isn't just about you. It's about rhythm. Build it."
Dane nodded.
Then he smiled. Then—laughed.
Something clicked.
He slipped bounce passes through impossible windows. Karl caught fire from deep. Marlon blocked a dunk with his face.
Fourth Quarter. Tie Game. 12 seconds left.
Dane dribbled up. 8 seconds. Two defenders bit on the fake.
He passed.
Karl. Corner. Three.
Buzzer.
Swish.
Silence.
Then: pandemonium.
Coach Dan crushed Dane in a bear-hug.
They had placed third—wildcard spot to Regionals secured.
🏐 Girls' Volleyball: The Five-Set War
Tala, Leia, and the girls had become legends.
But Iriga National was a colossus—monstrous spiker, clairvoyant libero.
Set 1: Gubat
Set 2: Iriga
Set 3: Gubat
Set 4: Iriga
Final Set: 13–15
It ended with a net touch.
Rika dropped to her knees. Tala wept in Leia's arms.
Coach Cely raised her clipboard like a torch.
"Second place... and you're going to Regionals."
Screams. Hugs. More tears.
🎾 Tennis, Chess & Chaos
Jomar and Mira, the definition of chaos, won bronze in mixed doubles. Their final point? An accidental racket toss that hit the net cord and bounced in.
Mira screamed:
"THAT COUNTS?!"
Coach:
"I'll allow it."
Randy the chess player obliterated the top seed in ten moves.
Afterward, the rival coach approached Dane.
"Is it true you beat our chess champ yesterday?"
Dane blinked.
"I thought we were playing dama."
🏆 Awarding Ceremony – Gubat Coastal's Rise
🥈 Gubat Coastal High – Second Place Overall (Provincials)
🎟️ Qualified for Regionals in:
Girls' Badminton (Alona)
Girls' Volleyball
Boys' Basketball
Mixed Doubles Tennis
Chess
They stood together on the podium.
Five teams. One school.
Their medals gleamed in the sunlight like promises made.
"Representing Camarines Sur at the Regional Tournament," the announcer boomed,
"Gubat Coastal High!"
🌅 The Bonfire That Night
Back at the beach, the waves whispered and the fire crackled.
Yumi and Nina painted each other's faces with glow-in-the-dark paint.
"I'm calling it," Yumi declared. "Kuya and Ate Alona are endgame."
Her parents smiled as she practiced a wedding speech using a toy mic.
Under a thatched umbrella, Dane and Alona shared a single halo-halo.
Alona stirred it absently. "I almost lost it all today."
Dane leaned back. "You didn't. You found more."
She looked at him. "Are you ever scared?"
"All the time."
"But you never show it."
"I save it for after."
Their fingers brushed.
From somewhere down the beach:
"ARE THEY ON A DATE?!"
Yumi: "I KNEW IT!"