Team events asked to step up in Palaro

BAGUIO. Aside from combative sports, sepak takraw, futsal and softball are among the team events were Cordillerans can excel to improve their medal standing in the upcoming Palarong Pambansa. (Roderick Osis)
BAGUIO. Aside from combative sports, sepak takraw, futsal and softball are among the team events were Cordillerans can excel to improve their medal standing in the upcoming Palarong Pambansa. (Roderick Osis)

WITH the hopes of breaking its 25 gold medal output last year, Cordillera athletes were asked to double their effort to improve its medal standing in the upcoming Palarong Pambansa in Davao City from April 21 to 27.

While the region is pinning its hopes once again on individual and combative sports, the Department of Education (DepEd) in the region is also looking at other team events where Cordillera can also excel.

"For combative sports, it is proven that Cordillerans have innate combative strengths which gained our moniker 'Fearless Cordillerans',” DepEd Cordillera Education Support Services Division chief Agustin Gumuwang said.

Gumuwang added the physique of Cordillerans, who are used to walking and hiking mountains while carrying loads, is a big factor in the physical qualification requirement for combative sports, proof of which is the world-renowned Team Lakay with members like Eduard Folayang and Kevin Belingon who continue to bring home the belt in mixed martial arts.

The DepEd official also claimed other regions have sought for the removal of combative sports in competitions organized by the department due to their being dangerous events, which was denied.

Gumuwang cited Republic Act 10588 or the Palarong Pambansa Act of 2013 allows the conduct of such events to prepare grassroots athletes for international events.

Georaloy Palao-ay, DepEd Cordillera Public Affairs Officer and concurrent deputy sports coordinator, said that other regions have also retrained their individual events like combative sports, which increased the performance quality of their athletes.

"When we say combative, Cordillerans were ranking first but recently, they (other regions) became distant because we are already using the Olympics Medal System,” Palao-ay said.

Palao-say said the region is looking at the medal contribution of the team events and the possibilities to strengthen them, to add up to the region’s medal performance.

In 2018, he said softball and futsal managed to improved their standings and is expected to better their performance this year.

Palao-say added that the different schools division offices have come up with a new strategy, to conduct team training per event to synchronize the skills of team members.

The training will be done prior to the Palarong Pambansa as a form of warm-up to bring the athletes’ potentials to the peak for the big game in Davao.

The Cordillera will be sending 744 athletes, coaches and officials to the annual sports competition. (With a report from PNA)

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