DAVAO City's 42-man delegation will leave Friday, July 17, to compete in the 2015 Batang Pinoy Luzon Leg that will kick off Saturday, July 18, in different venues in Bulacan.
Sports Development Division of the City Mayor's Office (SDD-CMO) program officer Pochollo Elegino, during Thursday's Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) Forum at The Annex ground floor of SM City Davao, said they will board the 6 a.m. Cebu Pacific Air flight going to Manila where they will then board a bus going to Malolos, Bulacan.
The opening ceremony is slated at 4 p.m. Friday at the Bulacan Sports Complex while games start Saturday.
The baseball and archery events will be played at the Bulacan Sports Complex while judo will be held at the Robinson's Place Malolos.
But Elegino said he will have to clarify with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) if the billiards event will really be played at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila as he found it odd that the event would be played in a venue far from Bulacan.
"I talked to the coaches about their chances of winning and they told me that they could not promise to win the gold. But what they promised is that they will do their best so hopefully their best would be enough to bring home the bacon for Davao City," Elegino said.
He said they have learned a lesson from the experience of the city's tennis contingent in the Philippine National Games.
The team was forced to withdraw from the competition as their scheduled return flight to Davao City on July 7 conflicted with the game schedules which were delayed due to bad weather brought by a string of typhoons and tropical depressions.
"The competition proper will be until July 22 and we have scheduled our return flight on July 24 in the morning. So we will have one free day in case there will be delays in the games to avoid what happened in the PNG," Elegino added.