TAGAYTAY CITY — Host Philippines closed out its campaign with a silver in the team senior aero dance and a bronze in the senior mixed pair events on Friday in the 10th Aero Gymnastics Asian Championships at the Tagaytay CT Velodrome.

Performing to the lively music from a collage of Filipino ethnic dances to the famous “Budots” beat, the Filipino campaigners sprang a pleasant surprise in their international debut in scoring 16.60 points in securing the silver medal.

Seasoned national veterans Arcanio Cadlos and Charmaine Dolar led the squad also composed of Enrico Ostia, James Dominick Yray, Jhon Jeoffrey Cañones, siblings Dorothy Grace and Danielle Asuncion and Princess Johanna Pama behind powerhouse Vietnam (17.250).

The home squad also edged the Mongolian team by .250 of a point in taking the bronze with a tally of 16.475 points in the competition backed by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp.

Cadlos and Dolar, 33rd Thailand Southeast Asian Games silver medalists last year, returned to the floor and secured their second medal in the meet with a bronze in their pet event with a tally of 18.30 points behind the 1-2 finish of the Vietnamese.

In overnight results, the country bagged another bronze in the youth aero dance event with a score of 16.700 points in the tournament.

Enoch Ryan, Jan Basmayor, Mikhaela Ladaran, Sean Emmanuel, Leona Shendrach, Jane Hallel Ramos, Anne Miguel Martin, Casey Meniano, Nathalya Facultad and Anne Haizzah Meniano composed the medal winning squad.

“We are all so happy because all of our sacrifices paid off. This was unexpected because our team was a last-minute entry and yet we took the silver,” Pama said.

In all, hosts delivered one gold, one silver and three bronze medals in a two-day meet organized by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) and sanctioned by the Asian Gymnastics Union.

“We are happy to get the silver and the bronze in the senior events. We prepared hard for this,” said national coach Alena Rius of the strong stint of her wards.

GAP president Cynthia Carrion was delighted at how the competition that drew 12 Asian countries and close to 500 athletes and officials ran smoothly.

“This is a credit to our organizing team, and most of all the participants we talked to give us the thumbs up. We really stepped for this one,” said Carrion.

“We gave them the opportunity to perform in front of the hometown crowd and I am glad that they delivered superbly despite our modest expectations. They competed against the best in Asia and performed well,” she added.