CAPAS, Tarlac — John Cabang’s three-peat in the men’s 110-meter hurdles of the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships last Saturday was not without close calls.

With only two hurdles left, he and national teammate Clinton Bautista were neck-and-neck as they tried to get ahead at the New Clark City Stadium.

In the end, the 23-year-old Cabang had to lean forward to get a slight lead and eventually won the race after clocking in 13.96 seconds.

Even more impressive was that this was Cabang’s first competition since the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he had to withdraw from the repechage due to a hip injury.

“This was my first tournament since the injury. I’m just so happy I can finish the race without pain,” Cabang, who resides in Spain, said.

“Recovering from the injury was hard. It was only two months ago when the pain disappeared.”

While he has yet to hit his best form, Cabang was still happy with his performance, especially running against a Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medalist in Bautista.

“I saw him when we were nearing the finish line. Clinton was closer than usual when we were in the final two hurdles,” Cabang said.

Cabang is expected to be one of the favorites to represent the Philippines in the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea from 27 to 31 May.

Bautista might have settled for a silver medal with a time of 14.16 seconds, but it was still a job well done for him after he finished in fourth place in the 85th Singapore Open Track and Field Championships last April.

“For us, getting the time of our run was important for us to get a starting point. It’s good we have an established time to work on that we can use in training,” Bautista said.

“I was out for seven months due to a fracture in my arm. I am still happy since we haven’t charted a time frame for our competitions.”

Meanwhile, Robyn Brown is also on a roll in the Philippine Athletics Championships as she won her third gold medal by ruling the women’s 100m hurdles.

Brown, who won the women’s 400m hurdles and the 4x400m mixed relay with Benalyn Bejoy, Hussein Loraña, and Kharis Lark Reil Pantorial, made the most of her stint as she gets ready to defend her title in the Asian Athletics Championships.

“It’s just been great hurdle work. We’re trying to get in as many hurdles as possible for future competitions,” Brown said.

The 30-year-old Brown hopes she will be able to join forces with Bejoy, Loraña, and Pantorial once again in South Korea.

“This is definitely a stepping stone for the Asian Champs and we are all looking forward to that. We have fast people on the team,” Brown said.

Also making waves on the third day of the Philippine Athletics Championships was John Abentong of KG Mercuries after he tallied 48.87 seconds for the gold medal of the men’s U18 400m event.

In the women’s high jump, Norliyana Kamaruddin of Malaysia University won the women’s high jump with 1.75m.

Jariya Wichiadit of Thailand won the women’s javelin throw as she tallied 52.29 meters.

Kim Mangrobang is trying her luck in the women’s 10,000m event while Leonard Grospe is defending his men’s high jump crown as of this writing.