WITH A second overall place in the recently held 2018 Philippine National Games (PNG), Baguio City officials are set to honor close to a hundred athletes on Monday.

Baguio recently closed the weeklong competition with 38 gold, 36 silver and 54 bronze medals with host Cebu City bagging this year’s overall champion snatching 41-54-67 medal haul as Mandaluyong City came in third place with 26-17-27 medals.

Archery, arnis, and taekwondo accounted eight gold medals each while judo chipped in seven with athletics adding five, boxing turning three and triathlon, one.

Baguio City sports coordinator Guidencio Gonzales said the local government is set to receive P8 million for its feat that will be used to improve the Summer Capital’s sports program.

The overall winning local government unit (LGU) will receive P10 million in cash assistance for its sports programs, instead of the P5 million originally put up by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) after President Rodrigo Duterte doubled the prizes for the top finishers in the PNG during the opening last Saturday.

The third to fifth placers will also receive P6 million, P4 million, and P2 million, respectively.

Aside from medals, winning athletes also received cash incentives and will get the chance to represent the country in international sporting events, among them the Olympics, Asian Games, and Southeast Asian Games.

The weeklong PNG 2018, presented by the PSC and supported by Smart Communications and STI, served as try-outs for the selection of future national team members. (Roderick Osis)