National shootfest slated next month | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online
MANILA, Philippines — October is a busy month for the country’s top shooters as the Philippine National Shooting Association holds its 2011 PNSA National Open starting this Saturday.
The event – a follow-up to the successful staging Sniper Shooting Challenge – is spread over four weekends in various venues where the likes of pistol king Tac Padilla and air rifle specialist Jason Valdez will show their stuff in their respective events.
Padilla and Valdez are the country’s top gold medal prospects for the coming SEA Games in Indonesia following their silver medal finish in the recent ASEAN Shooting Championships in Laos.
“We are staging this event not only to test the readiness of our athletes for the coming SEA Games but also to discover young and promising shooters,” said PNSA president Mikee Romero, whose company – Harbour Centre – will be the event’s major sponsor.
“We want to make the sport more vibrant because we have the chance to win an Olympic gold medal here. Given more attention and support, we will try our best to produce more world-class shooters,” added tournament chair and PNSA treasurer Marcia Cleofas.
PNSA Executive Director Larry Paredes said Padilla is favored to repeat in air pistol, rapid fire, center fire and standard pistol while Valdez is also going for a back-to-back in air rifle and 50M rifle 3-position.
Also out to retain their titles are Shanine Gonzales (air pistol and 25M pistol), Isabel Eufemio (air rifle women), Inna Therese Gutierez (50M rifle prone), Ed Yao (action shotgun pump), Ariel Santos (action shotgun semi-auto), Bert Espiritu (WA 1500 open men’s), Marly Llorito (women’s WA 1500), Noni Alvarez (revolver) and Jerwin Ching (men’s production).
The events will also be spread in different venues – PNSA Shooting Range. Phil. Marines Range and Fort Bonifacio Range. Seeing action on Saturday are BR5m shooters followed by air rifle (10m) shooters the following day.
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