BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — More than 400 young athletes from Baguio City are set to compete in the Batang Pinoy 2025 National Championships in General Santos City.
The tournament will run from October 24 to 31, 2025, with the official opening ceremony scheduled on Friday, October 25, 2025.
Together with their coaches, the approximately 470-strong delegation is brimming with determination as they seek to wrest first place from last year’s champion and rival, the City of Pasig.
In preparation for the competition, Paul Rillorta, Sports Administration Officer III, recounts that he has witnessed focus and determination within both players and coaches leading up to Batang Pinoy 2025.
He also cites making sure that the venue and accommodations are properly accounted for, sending staff ahead of time in order to ensure comfortability as special uniforms and daily allowances were also provided in support of the athletes participating in Mindanao.
Baguio City has had a firm history of producing strong young athletes, as Rillorta recounts.
In the last decade, Baguio city has always proven itself a consistent contender and champion of the annual sports competition, reeling in the championship several times. The most recent string of victories being the four-peat dominance of Baguio, starting from 2018 to 2023 (2020 and 2021 Batang Pinoy having been cancelled due to the pandemic), the city now seeks to retake its crown– losing its dominant streak last year to another frequent contender, Pasig City.
“Sa tingin namin lalaban ‘yang mga atleta natin. Kasi, kinuha naman natin, talagang ang mga thebest of the best. Hopefully, makuha natin ‘yung crown uli. Pero, ang importante naman is, lumaban sila, nag-enjoy sila.” Rillorta said.
Rillorta pointed out that Baguio has always been dominant, especially in combative sports like Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Boxing, but Baguio City Sports is optimistic that delegates from the city of Pines are well-trained and accounted for in all sports categories this year.
Despite this, however, he also mentioned that in recent years, Baguio has not been as dominant in distance-based sports such as athletics and swimming, careful to mention that these kinds of sports are those that they intend to focus on more. He refers to the fact that said sports categories are “multi-medal,” meaning one athlete could garner even up to seven medals, thus increasing the overall competitiveness of Baguio as a delegation.
As Batang Pinoy 2025 begins, Baguio’s young athletes are ready to show their hard work and determination on the national stage. With the strong support of their families, coaches and officials, the team is focused on bringing back the championship and making the city proud. Win or lose, Baguio aims to give its best and inspire other young athletes to stay passionate and keep the spirit of sports alive. – Kemm Olarte (SLU PIO Intern)
