Palaro action goes full blast in 9 sports

TARLAC PROVINCE, Philippines – The Palarong Pambansa goes full blast today as action in boxing, athletics, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, chess, sepak takraw and football fires off in various fronts here.

Boxing is tipped to draw a big crowd when it unwraps at 5 p.m. at the Ma. Cristina Park in San Vicente, Tarlac City while the centerpiece track and field and medal-rich swimming will be held at the sprawling, 78-hectare Tarlac Recreational Park here where the annual multi-sports meet for elementary and high school athletes was formally ushered in Sunday.

Athletics kicks off with secondary girls’ javelin at 6 a.m. and secondary boys’ long jump at 7:30 a.m.

Swimming, originally set today, has been reset for tomorrow to allow organizers time to change the deep well water to filtered water better suited for competition.

Meanwhile, San Beda, which will represent Calabarzon, will debut today against Cordillera Administrative Region in Concepcion, Tarlac as one of the heavy favorites for the crown held by the National Capital Region.

The Red Cubs will be coached by Brit Reroma, who has taken over from multi-titled Ato Badolato, who has retired to concentrate on his job as athletic director of the school.

The event, sponsored by Smart Communications, produced six-gold medal winners in Rafael Sta. Maria from NCR and multiple record breaker Omar Philip Dacera of Cotabato in swimming and double gold medalist Mervin Guarte of Mimaropa in athletics in last year’s edition in Tacloban, Leyte.

Boxing also produced Panabo, Davao del Norte pride Mark Anthony Barriga, who capped his colorful Palaro stint with a fourth gold. He is now in the RP training pool.

Over 15,000 athletes, coaches, delegation members and sports officials have converged in this province with a population of over a million and known for its vast agricultural land and hospitality.

These include the traditional powerhouse NCR delegation, which is out to defend its overall championship in the high school and elementary levels after dominating the last four editions of this weeklong summer sportsfest.

This time, however, the Big City bets are expected to have their hands full not just against traditional contenders Western Visayas and Southern Tagalog but also from host Central Luzon, which is fielding in a 700-strong delegation.

Tarlac Gov. Vic Yap, Education Sec. Mona Valisno and Smart and PLDT chief Manny V. Pangilinan graced the opening rites of the event highlighted with a day of dancing and music and a night of fireworks.

PALARO NOTES: Macky Escalona, the former Ateneo hotshot turned model who played pro ball for Ginebra for a couple of seasons, is here in Palaro as the spokesperson and executive assistant of host Tarlac Gov. Vic Yap. “This is my new job, to help the governor in his programs including sports development,” said Escalona, member of the Ateneo team that reigned supreme in the UAAP eight years ago…ABAP secretary-general Patrick Gregorio said they’ve sent former RP team mainstays Violito Payla and Godfrey Castro to scout potential talents in this weeklong event among the elementary and high school athletes. “This is an opportunity for us to discover talents from the provinces because the best of the best are now here,” said Gregorio, who also heads Smart Sports…The DepEd’s website, depedtfss.wikispaces.com, is still active for the third straight year with officials guaranteeing faster, accurate posting of results this year…The Palarong Pambansa is now on facebook for the first time and, to date, it has already drawn over 1,000 fans.