Menty Mendigoria of the Skateboarding and Roller Sports Association of the Philippines, Inc., along with Princess Jaramillo. Handout

MANILA, Philippines -- The country will not have to look far for the next Margielyn Didal, the skateboard who won gold in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

This, according to Monty Mendigoria, the president of the Skateboarding and Roller Sports Association of the Philippines, Inc.

Mendigoria tabbed Princess Jaramillo as possibly the "next Margie," after the Dasmariñas, Cavite native took runner-up honors behind Didal in the women's street finals of the National Skateboarding Championships last weekend in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

"She definitely has that potential," said Mendigoria of Jaramillo, who scored 24.57 points behind Didal's 28.73.

"Gusto ko po talaga maging miyembro ng national team. Yun po ang pangarap ko," said Jaramillo, who took up skateboarding at the age of 16, after being drawn to the sport by the male streetboarders in her Paranaque neighborhood.

"I have witnessed Cess for quite sometime," said Mendigoria. "What I admire about her, just like Margie, is her consistency."

Still, Jaramillo has to go through the screening process to make it to the national team in the 30th Southeast Asian Games where skateboarding will make its debut as a medal sport.

Only two entries are allowed in each of the eight events – four in the men's and four in the women's divisions -- that are included in skateboarding in the 30th SEA Games, and Didal and Fil-Am Christiana Means are already seeded in the street skateboard competitions, he explained.

"If Cess doesn't make the cut, she definitely be a part of our national pool because, as we said, we would like to groom a new generation of Margie Didals," said Mendigoria during the PSA Forum on Tuesday at the Amelie Hotel in Manila.

Currently a dental technician who makes protective mouthguards, Jaramillo said she practices after work at a makeshift street skateboard park with other enthusiasts near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

"Ang favorite ko pong trick is the 50-50 explosive grind," said the petite skateboarder of the routine where she skates over a rail or ledge then suddenly leaps in mid-air then lands back on the rail again.

Mendigoria explained that the skatepark being built in Tagaytay, Cavite, which will be the site of the street and park events, was facing some slight delays due to the onset of the rainy season.

"With the sport making its debut in the SEA Games, we are supposed to have a test competition, but the rainy season is causing some delays in the construction of the skatepark in Tagaytay," he said. "The skatepark is supposed to be finished by September, but it could be done in October."

As the competition manager for skateboarding in the SEA Games, Mendigoria, however, was confident "that we will have a truly world-class facility once the skatepark in Tagaytay is done."

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