BAGUIO City relied on combative sports anew, running away with 83 golds, including 81 silvers, and 107 bronze medals to retain the over-all title of the Batang Pinoy national championships hosted by the Summer Capital.
The Pines City bets edged Cebu City in the overall standings after capturing 36 golds, 40 silvers and 44 bronze while Laguna went home with a 34-13-31 as Quezon City finihsed fourth with a 29 - 16 - 18 medal harvest with Pangasinan securing the top five with 24 - 24 – 25.
Baguio slowly flexed its muscle winning 19 golds in arnis, 16 in wushu, 13 in muay Thai, 10 in taekwondo, nine in judo, and five in pencak silat.
The highland city also secured eight gold medals in wrestling winning half of its gold haul in the 14-15 categories through Franklin Tallongen in the boys’ under-34 kg. division, Mark Gama in the boys under-61 kg. division, Gwyneth Pooter in the girls’ under-60 kg. division, and Shenkin Diwas in the girls’ under-64 kg. Division.
Tallongen, Gama, and Diwas' respective wins actually highlighted separate 1-3 finishes for Baguio with Abraham Bayudang, Dven Cadiogan, and Welgis Foy-Os cropping the bronze medals in their respective divisions, three from the total of 14 bronzes.
Baguio also got two golds in the 10-11 divisions courtesy of Jeremy Malecdan in the boys’ under-42 kg. division and Mharriane Balasuit in the girls’ under-36 kg, division.
Kurt Abgao and Wryqun Gama scored the other two golds for Baguio, winning in the boys’ 12-13 under-32 and under-36 kg. divisions, respectively.
Meanwhile, PSC chairman William Ramirez lauded the participants in the weeklong competition for 15 - years – old and below.
“As we come to the final day of the annual youth games or Batang Pinoy 2018, in the aftermath of Typhoon Ompong and the calamity that befell a number of our brethren here in Baguio and Benguet, the PSC would like to thank the people of Baguio and Benguet led by Mayor Mauricio Domogan of Baguio and Governor Cresencio Pacalso of Benguet respectively for helping us deliver a successful Batang Pinoy National Championships. You have our respect, admiration and support,” according to Ramirez.
The PSC chief also thanked the more than 7,000 athletes, coaches,and chaperons from the 190 local government units who participated in the weeklong competition despite the effects of Typhoon Ompong in the city.
“We thank you for pushing to build our youth up in sports. You are strong pillars of our efforts to build a better tomorrow for our children,” sabi ni Ramirez.
“The friendship and life skills that you, our children, learned on these sports competitions are ways which we hope would fortify your good character and solid bearing in life. We hope that more than the medals, more than the winning, it is the experience of being a Batang PInoy Athlete which will leave a lasting impact on your life.” (Roderick Osis)