Davao City finished third in the overall medal tally of the 2023 Batang Pinoy (BP) national championships had maintained the fourth position in the 2023 Philippine National Gams held last week in Metro Manila.
Out of over 100 participating local government units (LGUs), Davao City's 201 Batang Pinoy athletes harvested a total of 47 gold medals, 50 silvers, and 39 bronzes.
Davao City trailed behind overall champion Baguio City (82-52-59) and runner-up Pasig City (57-56-74), based on the medal tally released by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on Wednesday, December 27, 2023.
Dabawenyo swimmer Paolo Miguel Labanon, named as BP swimming boys 16-17 most valuable player (MVP), led the medal haul as he brought home six gold medals (including two from relay events) and one silver. Ivo Nikolai Enot contributed three individual swimming golds, and both were part of the relay teams that clinched additional golds for the city.
The girls 16-17 relay teams, led by the Amoguis sisters Lora Micah and Liaa Margarette, also accounted for two golds.
Desiree Alaba secured two gold medals (girls 18U triple jump and long jump), further bolstering Davao City's impressive finish.
Davao City's karatedo team added four golds and three silvers while the wushu sanda team bagged three golds (Ivy Ledama-group A girls 45Kg, Johanna Jeiel Garcia Barbero-group B girls 48kg, Frenchester Aracena-group A boys 48kg), one silver (Maezzy Luania- Group A Girls 42kg), and two bronzes (Charles Bartolome-Group A Boys 56kg, Atkins Abanos-Group B Boys 52kg).
Dabawenyo arnisadors, for their part, contributed one gold (Mark Benson Francisco - boys 10-12-48kg padded point), three silvers, and two bronzes.
Rounding up the Batang Pinoy top 10 are Quezon City (44-35-48) in fourth, Cebu City (39-43-46) fifth, Iloilo City (33-20-31) sixth, Zamboanga City (32-22-23) seventh, Manila City (24-19-15) eighth, Olongapo City (21-13-10) ninth, and Laguna (20-19-29) 10th.
In the PNG, Davao City retained the fourth overall ranking with a 24-30-22 medal count.
Trackster Lyka Catubig clinched three golds, making her the most bemedalled Dabawenyo PNG athlete.
Pasig City (42-39-47) emerged as the overall champion while Mandaluyong City (35-42-39) and Baguio City (with 35-41-49) landed in the second and third positions, respectively.
Cebu City (13-14-17) came fifth, Zamboanga City (10-12-28) sixth, Quezon City (9-10-8) seventh, Bulacan (9-7-9) eighth, Makati City (9-4-9) ninth, and Pangasinan (8-9-20) 10th. MLSA