THE Abanse Negrense Softball Tournament held its final matches at Barangay Blumentritt in Murcia over the weekend.

The three teams that emerged victorious were Education and Training Center School II (ETCS II), Negros Occidental High School (NOHS), and Talisay City in the majors, juniors, and seniors divisions, respectively.

The young batters from ETCS II received P7,500.00 in cash. Following ETCS II in the majors division ranking was the Municipality of Murcia receiving P5,000 in cash.

The E. Lopez Elementary School, on the other hand, was named second runner-up receiving P3,500 in cash prize. All the winning teams also received medals and trophies.

In the juniors category, the NOHS team bagged the championship title, while Bacolod City National High School (BCNHS) and Barangay E. Lopez National High School ranked first and second runners-up, respectively.

The winning teams in the juniors category also received P7,500 for the champion, P5,000 for first runner-up, and P3,500 for second runner-up, as well as medals and trophies.

For the seniors category, the champion team was Talisay City, followed by Silay City, Murcia, and NOHS teams as the first, second, and third runner-up winners, respectively.

Each winning team received medals, trophies, and cash prizes -- P15,000.00 (champion), P10,000 (first runner-up), P7,000 (second runner-up), and P5,000 (third runner-up).

The consolation prizes were P3,000 each for Bacolod City, Bacolod City National High School, and La Carlota City.

Moreover, special recognitions were given to the Best Hitter, Best Slugger, Most Number of Homeruns, Most Number of Stolen Bases, Best Pitcher, and Most Valuable Player in each of the three categories.

For the seniors division, Jhaycel Roldan of NOHS was the Best Hitter, John Cordero of Talisay City was named the Best Slugger, Ken Ray Pabale of Silay City was awarded the Most Number of Homeruns, Raymer Cosas of Talisay received the Most Number of Stolen Bases, and Ken Ray Pabale of Silay City was named the Best Pitcher and Most Valuable Player.

In the juniors category, NOHS’ Dona Tan, BCNHS’ Khazea Valenzuela and Lyka Tanieza, and NOHS’ Rezlyn Joy Desabille were named as the Best Hitter, Best Slugger, Most Number of Homeruns, and Most Number of Stolen Bases, respectively.

Arlene Angel Mahilum of NOHS was given the Best Pitcher and the Most Valuable Player recognitions.

For the majors division, Angela Esperida (ETCS II), Audrey Coleen Matarong (ETCS II), Karen Benjamin (Murcia), and Kryzel Barlita (Murcia) were named the Best Hitter, Best Slugger, Most Number of Homeruns, and the Most Number of Stolen Bases, respectively.

The Best Pitcher and Most Valuable Player were given to Erica Passion of ETCS II.

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, Provincial Sports Office Head Mr. Anthony Carlo Agustin, and Murcia Mayor Victor Gerardo Rojas were present at the awarding ceremony.

The Abanse Negrense Softball Tournament is part of the grassroots sports development programs spearheaded by the governor.

It aims to provide more opportunities to develop talents while raising academic consciousness by motivating the youth to balance sports participation and academic performance. (PR)