CEBU, Philippines, July 17 ------ National Capital Region (NCR) once again proved to be the supreme destination for the Philippines’ top young athletes after winning the Palarong Pambansa 2024 overall championship with a collection of 98 gold medals, 66 silvers, and 74 bronzes.
The country’s capital got its best haul from gymnasts Elaiza Yulo (5 golds) and Maxine Amira Bondoc (5), swimmers Sophia Garra (5) and Alessandra Therese Martin (5), all rising as some of the event’s most bemedalled athletes, while the NCR boys secondary basketball team also reclaimed the crown in a heated finale against Central Luzon. Calabarzon, after a stunning defeat to resurgent powerhouse Western Visayas last year in Marikina City, rose back to its usual second place with a 57-51-53 gold-silver-bronze split, hiked by a 12 combined golds from just two phenomenal secondary level swimmers, top gold hauler TJ Amaro (7) and Jasmine Mojdeh (5).
Western Visayas, meanwhile, slipped back to third after barely missing Calabarzon with 56 golds, one of the last being a successful title redemption in girls secondary volleyball by Bacolod Tay Tung High School. The region also amassed 41 silvers and 41 bronzes. Davao Region settled at a far fourth with 32 golds, 25 silvers, and 35 bronzes, as host Central Visayas claimed fifth with a 29-42-39 split. Other notable results are Caraga’s 12th-place finish with 11 golds, a whopping 7 coming from wrestling alone.
Debutant guest “region” National Academy of Sports (NAS) also got a historic gold in taekwondo poomsae, on top of 5 silvers, and 2 bronzes, while the Philippine Schools Overseas (PSO) earned one bronze, also in taekwondo. Meanwhile, Western Visayas ruled the para games tally with 24 golds, 21 silvers, and 14 bronzes, boasting a sizeable lead in all columns. Calabarzon was a far second with a 13-9-9 split, while NCR completed the podium with 9 golds, 8 silvers, and 5 bronzes.
Manila claimed the top spot in the Top Performing School Division Offices, followed by Iloilo at second, and Pasig City at third. Ilocos Norte now prepares for the 65th Palarong Pambansa in 2025, as the likes of Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc and Laoag City Mayor Michael Marcos Keon accepted the hosting responsibilities during the closing ceremony.
Source: rappler.com
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