By Aileen P. Refuerzo Baguio City will gun for its fifth consecutive Batang Pinoy crown as the national youth sports meet for athletes 12-17 unfolds Nov. 23, 2024 in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan. Mayor Benjamin Magalong sent off the city’s delegation composed of 625 athletes who will carry the city’s colors in a total of 30 events that will run from Nov. 23-28, 2024. The mayor along with Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan, Councilors Isabelo Coasalan and Jose Molintas and other city officials also joined the team during the parade and opening program held Nov. 23, 2024. Baguio’s most bemedalled archery athlete 15-year-old Chass Mhaiven Nawew-Colas led the oath of sportsmanship during the opening program. Colas powered the city’s campaign last year with a 5-1-1 gold-silver-bronze medal haul. Batang Pinoy is the major grassroots program of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) by virtue of Executive Order 44-1998. The PSC said around 12,000 delegates from 177 local government units are expected to see action in 30 sports events namely archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball 3×3, beach volleyball, boxing, breaking, chess, cycling, dancesport, futsal, gymnastic, jiu-jitsu, judo, karate, kickboxing, kurash, lawn tennis, muay thai, obstacle course, pencak silat, sepak takraw, soft tennis, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.

By JM Samidan -Baguio PIO   Baguio City para-athletes placed fifth out of 63 participating local government units and organizations joining the 8th staging of the Philippine National Para Games (PNPG) from November 10 to 14, 2024 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. In the unofficial overall Medal Tally released by the Philippine Sports Commission as of 7PM, Nov. 14, Baguio City ranks fifth place with 17 gold medals, 12 silver and 10 bronze. Pasig City ranks first place followed by PNSB Pasay, Iloilo in third place and NTP Philspada in fourth place. Baguio City Person with Disability Affairs Officer Samuel Aquino said medal counts were from athletics, archery, powerlifting and table tennis. There was no medal for chess and badminton events.   A total of 44 para-athletes from Baguio City joined over 800 contingents showcasing their skills and determination during the 2024 PNPG. “Baguio City was on the third place in the 2019 PNPG but there were lesser participating LGUs then. Now it was mostly a home court advantage for Pasig, Pasay and the National Philippine Team or NPT,” Aquino explained. Pasig City for one fielded 125 para-athletes compared to Baguio with only 44 contingents, Aquino furthered. PDAO Baguio started conducting local sports tournaments to scout more para-athletes and hone their skills in preparation for the PNPG. This resulted in more qualified participants and more opportunities to win medals, Aquino said. He hopes that medal standing will inch higher once the official and final tally is released by the Philippine Sports Commission.  

Malaking inspirasyon sa mga atleta ng Pangasinan ang suportang ipinamalas ni Gov. Ramon Mon-Mon Guico III, na sumabak sa 8th National Para Games 2024. Mahigit tatlumpung Persons with Disabilities (PWD) ang ipinadala ng Pamahalaang Panlalawigan upang makilahok sa 8th National Para Games. Patuloy sa pagpapakita ng galing ang mga atleta ng Pangasinan na sumasabak sa Philippine National Para Games 2024 sa Rizal Memorial Sports Complex sa Maynila at PhilSports Arena sa Pasig. Ito ang listahan ng mga nagwagi sa ibat-ibang sports ngayong araw: Gold Medalists: Jefryl Carilla – Shot Put Jacquiline N. Castro – 100m Freestyle Swim Leizel Parizal – 100m Run Jefryl Carilla – Javelin Leo Macalanda – Table Tennis Silver Medalists: Manolito Parica – Shot Put Geraldine De Vera – Shot Put Jolly Poquiz – 100m Run Rolly Regondola – Shot Put Bronze Medalists: Manolito Parica – Javelin James Esguerra – 100m Run Ayon kay Governor Ramon V. Guico III, ang paglahok sa ganitong kompetisyon ay isang pagkakataon upang ipakita ang galing at determinasyon ng mga lokal na atleta at magsilbing inspirasyon sa iba pang mga PWD na patuloy na magsikap at mangarap sa kabila ng mga hamon. Kaya buo ang suporta ng administrasyong Guico sa mga atleta ng Pangasinan upang matulungan silang makamit ang tagumpay. Hangad kasi ni Governor Guico na magbigay ng pantay-pantay na pagkakataon para sa lahat. (Rich Majin| PIMRO)

BAGUIO CITY — City officials recently congratulated and commended Baguio-based kickboxers who won medals during the 2024 Asian Kickboxing Confederation (AKC) championships. In a resolution authored by Councilor Vladimir Cayabas, local legislators stated that the city government proudly recognizes and commends their outstanding achievement, together with their coach Bryan S. Olod, that brought pride and honor not only to the city but to the entire Asian nation and worldwide. Earlier, the 2024 Asian Kickboxing Confederation championships was held on October 6-13, 2024 at Phnom Penh, Cambodia promoted and organized by the prestigious kickboxing organization. Further, some 400 kickboxers from 20 countries participated in the prestigious international combat competition. Among those who represented the Philippines are home-grown and Baguio-based athletes who emerged victorious in their respective categories, namely, Gina Iniong-Araos – gold medalist in the 56-kilogram low kick category; Olympian Hergie T. Bacyadan – gold medalist in the 70-kilogram K1 category that paved the way for him to qualify for the 2024 World Games in Chengdu, China; and Carlo Von Bumina-ang – gold medalist in the 57-kilogram full contact category. Further, Honorio Banario was a silver medalist in the 75-kilogram K1 category while the Baguio-based athletes that brought home separate bronze medals are Claudine Veloso in the 52-kilogram K1 category, Daryl Chulipas in the 51-kilogram full contact category, Felex Dave Cantores in the 67-kilogram full contact category and Whinny Bayawon in the 57-kilogram kick light category. Copies of the approved resolution will be transmitted to the medalists for information, guidance, ready reference and further needed action.    

CONGRATULATIONS, Islay Erika Bomogao Our Igorot pride just won her first ONE Championship fight against Fuu of Japan in a 100-pound catchweight bout by way of a clear-cut unanimous decision held Friday evening at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. We are very proud of you, Islay. Happy birthday, too.  

BAGUIO CITY — The 74th edition of the annual Januarius Fil-Am golf tournament is slated on November 26–December 14, 2024 at the Camp John Hay (CJH) and Baguio Country Club (BCC) fairways. The seniors division of the longest running amateur golf tournament in the world will be from November 26 to December 4, 2024 while the regular division will be scheduled on December 5-14, 2024. Jude Eustaquio, co-chairman of the Fil-Am Golf Executive Committee and general manager of the CJH Golf Club, said that more than 1,400 golfers from the Asia-Pacific region will be in the city during the 19-day competition to have fun playing their favorite sport while spending their well-deserved break in the country’s undisputed Summer Capital in time for the Yuletide season. Further, the golfers comprise the 260 participating teams in the said tournament which is five teams more than the 255 teams that joined the previous staging of the competition last year. He assured that both the CJH and BCC golf courses are ready in time for the conduct of the annual golf tournament after undergoing various refurbishments to ensure that the participating golfers will really have fun playing golf. One hundred twenty-nine teams will be joining the seniors division while 131 teams will be participating in the regular division of the golf tournament. For his part, Anthony de Leon, co-chairman of the Fil-Am Golf Executive Committee and BCC general manager, claimed there are still 110 teams in the waiting list of the organizers providing some options to be considered in the staging of the 75th edition of the tournament next year to ensure that more teams can participate in the prestigious competition. He added that two cars are up for grabs for the hole-in-one in both golf courses while another two cars will be raffled to the golfers during the separate awarding ceremonies of the seniors and regular divisions. (Baguio-PIO)              

Itogon and La Trinidad zoomed to their third wins, Bokod just a game behind, a win for a new look Kabayan and a Tuba player had his second player of the game award even as typhoon Kristine caused the cancellation of games in Kapangan Thursday night as the Cong. Eric Go Yap Congressional Cup. Benguet Basketball League finished its second week. Will Kean Lee made a successful return to La Trinidad and led the defending champion to an 88-57 victory over Buguias. Lee, who ended his Maharlika Professional Basketball League campaign with Abra losing to Pampanga in their quarterfinals series to end his two-game absence from the Congressional Cup, scored 28 points. It was a double-double performance for Lee on his debut as he added 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals on his stat sheet last Saturday at the Benguet Sports Complex. Earlier, Lenard Cabanes had a 19-6-1-3 (points-rebounds-assists-steals) performance to lead Itogon to a 112-66 rout of Kibungan. The 46 point margin was also the biggest yet in the two week old tournament backed by Rep. Yap, the ACT-CIS Partylist, the office of Gov. Melchor Diclas and Media for Sports Development. Bokod took its second win in the tournament with Rey Bilibli leading the team past Mankayan 81-58. The former University of Baguio guard led the Ambuklao Dam residents with a 22-7-7-5 performance to win top individual honors that day. Arvin Gamboa and sharpshooter Kyle Naisod scored 22 and 18 points, respectively, to bounce back from a one point loss to powerhouse La Trinidad with a 76-69 conquest of Kapangan. Jervie Calivo, meanwhile, scored nine of his 14 point effort in the third quarter to turn a seven point halftime lead into a 12 point advantage after the third quarter as Tuba outlasted Tublay 73-57, for the team’s second win. On Tuesday, in Sablan, Calivo scored a low 10 markers to help Tuba past Kapangan, 58-53, for the team’s third win in four games. Calivo also became the first player to win back to back individual honors in the league. Khurt Ciano had just nine points, but was enough to lead Sablan to a 50-48 victory of Tublay at home also Tuesday. No Sablan player scored in double digit. The 98 combined points is the lowest in the league, while the 50 is the lowest winning score and 48 is the lowest losing score. On Wednesday night, Commissioner Roderick Osis announced the cancellation of games that was supposed to be held at Kapangan. Osis in his announcement wrote: “With tropical cyclone signal number 3 already hoisted in the Province of Benguet and other parts of North Luzon, the scheduled game(s) tomorrow, October 24, in the Municipality of Kapangan,… will be cancelled and will be moved to a later date.” The games slated in Kapangan are between Bakun and Tubay and host Kapangan against Buguias. “The safety of all participants and attendees is our top priority, and with the current weather situation, it is in the best interest of everyone to avoid unnecessary risks,” he added. There will be no games on Saturday in basketball but the volleyball games will be hosted by Sablan in October 27. The games will see Tuba eye its second win when it meets a debuting Kabayan at 8:00 AM, Itogon hopes to bounce back after defaulting its game last Sunday against Kibungan when it crosses path with Bakun. Itogon became the first ever team in the Yap Cup to have its game defaulted for failing to arrive on time. At noon, it will be Bokod trying to earn its second win against a beefed up but winless Buguias, then it will be Atok against Mankayan. The last game will see the first biggest game when favorite Sablan tests another touted team in La Trinidad. Both won their games last Sunday and are at the top of the Benguet Women’s Volleyball League. CEGYCC Release

A team of 25 athletes representing Zamboanga City’s Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) will be competing in the upcoming National Paragames, scheduled from November 10-14, 2024 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Malate, Manila and Philsports Arena in Pasig. The city delegation will be vying for medals in athletics, swimming, badminton, chess, and power lifting. This marks a momentous occasion for the city’s PWD community, offering a unique platform to showcase their abilities and athletic prowess. The Paragames Coordinator and Official, citing City Ordinance 549, emphasizes the event’s focus on recreational wellness and its non-political, non-traditional nature. “Sports events are a symbol of peace and unity,” the PWD official said. The delegation is seeking the support of the community in its quest for success, aiming to bring home medals and trophies to Zamboanga City, known as “Asia’s Latin City.” The team’s dedication and determination promise an exciting and inspiring display of athleticism during the National Paragames. (Henry Salac/PDAU)

BAGUIO CITY — The City Council, recently, approved the request for additional funding for the city’s sports fund amounting to P12 million for the preparation of the athletes participating in the annual grassroots program of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Philippine Youth Games or Batang Pinoy National Championships 2024 that will be held 2024 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, on November 23—28, subject to availability of funds. The fund allocation was contained under Ordinance No. 53, series of 2024 for the local government to field its delegation to the annual grassroots sports competition. Earlier, the council considered a letter dated August 30, 2024 of City Administrator Bonifacio dela Pena requesting additional funding for the city’s sports fund amounting to P12 million to prepare Baguio-based athletes participating in the annual grassroots program of the PSC, particularly the Philippine Youth Games or Batang Pinoy National Championships scheduled on December 15-20, 2024 in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. He explained that the amount of PhP7 million will be spent on the participation of athletes in the Batang Pinoy while PhP5 million will augment the current incentives fund which is already depleted. However, in an official statement dated September 12, 2024, Executive Director and Project Director Paulo Francisco C. Tatad of the PSC, Batang Pinoy National Championships 2024, stated that after the release of the Department of Education’s calendar, it was discovered that the period December 15-20, 2024 still coincides with school classes and as a result, the event will be adjusted from the earlier schedule to November 23-28, 2024 which is aligned with their mid-year school break. (Baguio PIO)