SWEET VICTORY. Rain-drenched STK-Australia players survived defending champion Datis-Iran in the tough Division I finals of the PALS paintball tournament at the Clark Freeport, Pampanga on Sunday afternoon. Photo by Ric Gonzales
CLARK FREEPORT – STK-Australia edged out defending champion Datis-Iran in the tough Division I of the PALS paintball tournament at the Parade Ground here on Sunday.
The Australians won over Iran, which dominated the PALS’ first leg in Thailand last May. The third and final leg is set in November at Langkawi, Malaysia.
In Division II, the Splatmasters CMP- Philippines were the first to be eliminated in the five-team division. X-tioneers 2-Malaysia won the finals in the division.
CMX Hamoon-Malaysia outlasted Kenjahatan-Malaysia in the Division III. Players from Iran, Japan, United States of America (USA), Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Brunei and the Philippines braved strong rains on Saturday and Sunday.
Leonard Sy, president of the United Paintballers Philippines (UPP), said his group organized the event with Clark Development Corporation (CDC) President and CEO Felipe Antonio Remollo and Department of Tourism (DOT) Regional Director Ronnie Tiotuico.
He disclosed that for an entrance fee of $350 US dollars for each team at Division I, the price for the champion is $3,000. Sy said joining paintball competition “is quite expensive” as the bullets in one box with 2000 rounds cost P2,500. The round-shaped bullets fired from rifle-shaped marker releases paint, making scoring easier to determine.
He added Iranian players use about 70 boxes worth about P175,000 in one tournament. Iranian paintball team captain Babak Esmaeily, a medical doctor based in Tehran, said the venue at Clark “for paintball is ideal and our accommodation is good.”
He added they welcomed the help of the “government in assisting them in playing and staying at Clark.”
CDC tourism promotions office manager Noemi Garcia said Remollo had asked her to “assist all-out and help get discounted rates” for the paintball teams.
Garcia said this year’s paintball competition is part of the CDC’s thrust to promote sports tourism inside the Clark Freeport.
Aside from the paintball competition, Remollo said the CDC Parade Grounds has been the venue of a series of games hosted by the Baseball Philippine Series 8.
He added that other sporting events like soccer, Frisbee, rugby, and cricket, among others, would be held on a monthly basis here.
