TAGAYTAY CITY — From virtually out of nowhere, two rookie duos struck with a gold and bronze medal, respectively, in the youth mixed pairs event of the 10th Aerobic Gymnastics Asian Championships presented by the Philippine Sports Commission early Thursday morning here.

Both Palarong Pambansa standouts in the last edition held in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, Rhimel Daniel Cabides and Antonette Amante pranced and danced with both dynamism and elegance in securing the gold medal with a score 17.80 points at the modified Tagaytay CT Velodrome.

General Santos natives Rhys Enoch Balmayor and John Mikaela Ladaran gave the country’s second medal in securing third place (17.150) in the meet backed by the Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Both pairs made the most of their international debuts in the competition organized by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines and sanctioned by the Asian Gymnastics Union.

“We proved that we can compete on the international stage,” said Amante, a triple Palaro gold medalist who, like Cabides, is 14 years old and a Grade 8 student at Teodoro Alonzo High School.

“It feels great to hear the Philippine national anthem played.”

“This is all too surreal. We really did not expect it. It was only a dream,” said Ladaran, 11, in sharing the podium with the Manila-based athletes.

“I am very proud of both pairs. The athletes went through a tough journey and grueling training, so I am very happy with the result,” said coach and former national team athlete Carlo Joshua Tangonan of his wards.

“We would like to thank the GAP (Gymnastics Association of the Philippines) for giving our junior athletes the opportunity to show their mettle against top-caliber gymnasts from Asia,” added Tangonan, who won a bronze medal in the mixed pair event alongside Charmaine Dolar at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.

Vying as the first squad among six finalists, Cabides and Amante set the tone with their eye-popping score of 17.80 points based on the cumulative tally of difficulty, execution and artistry.

The pair was on pins and needles for a while as the rest of the succeeding duos went to the mat to perform one after the other.

The closest squad to come near their score was the Vietnamese tandem of Ann Thinh Tran and Ngoc Gia Ngueyen, who also had 17.80 points, but were relegated to the silver for its execution — 7.450 to the PH duo’s 7.50.