Maxine Marie Bautista made heads turn as the Philippine National Figure Skating Championships 2024 kicked off at SM Skating inside Mall of Asia in Pasay City Thursday, Nov. 7.

The 23-year-old Bautista scored 50.03 points to rule the senior women's category and beat of Cathryn Limketkai (43.46) and Sofia Frank (41.53), who finished second and third, respectively, in the tournament that serves as selection of the skaters who will compete in the 2025 Asian Winter Games which is set February next year in Harbin, China.

Foreign youngsters from the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Singapore, and South Korea took part as well in the competition that was organized by the Philippine Ice Skating Union (PHSU) led by President Nikki Cheng.

Cheng expressed her hopes that by organizing a local tournament they will find other homegrown talents like Michael Martinez.

“What I really envision is, makapag-produce din tayo ng local talent natin. That's what we're really striving for,” said Cheng.

“That’s what we’re hoping to happen one day. We’re beefing up our programs and there’s a lot of kids na nakikita namin na up-and-coming,” she added. “And hopefully, one day, they'll be the ones naman na nasa international stage.”

Paolo Borromeo, the lone bet in the senior men’s division, tallied 45.56 points and earned an outright spot to the continental showpiece.

Other winners were Indonesian Muhammad Dasha Akbar (Novice Boys), Filipinos Guilana Angeli Dinopol (Novice Girls),  Brandon Baldoz (Junior Men), and South Korean Hyojin Jeon (Junior Women).