Palarong Pambansa, a breeding ground for Filipino world-class athletes
(PRESS RELEASE)
As the Palarong Pambansa 2012 draws nearer, the Department of Education looks forward to discovering a new batch of skillful athletes to represent the country in international sporting competitions.
Education Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC is excited to witness for the second time the Palarong Pambansa, which, for this year, will be hosted by the provincial government of Pangasinan led by Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. It will run from May 6-12, and will be participated in by thousands of elementary and secondary students from public and private schools.
“To me, Palarong Pambansa is a special sporting event. For one, the competing athletes are young students who, from pre-competition preparations up to the actual competitions, work doubly hard to make their schools and region proud. And second, this is where we discover extraordinary talents that bring glory to our country,” said Luistro.
Palarong Pambansa has become the breeding ground of some of our great national athletes since it started in 1948.
Among Palarong Pambansa talents are Elma Muros and Lydia de Vega for Athletics; Diane Castillejo for Tennis; Joper Esqueta and Gabriel Magnaye for Badminton; Violito Paylo for Boxing; Enchong Dee and Akiko Thompson for Swimming; Joan Chan for Archery; and Mark Paragua for Chess.
The Palarong Pambansa also prides itself for producing some of the great Philippine Basketball Association players such as Danny Ildefonso, Marlou Aquino, Willie Miller, Samboy Lim, and Kirby Raymundo.
AZKALS players Chiefy Caligdong and Kristopher Camcam are also products of the Palarong Pambansa.
“I always believe in the greatness of Filipinos when it comes to sports. I am confident that a player or two in this year’s Palarong Pambansa will become a world champion in the future,” Luistro said.
The sporting events in this year’s Palarong Pambansa are athletics, arnis, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing, chess, football, gymnastics (women’s artistic gymnastics, men’s artistic gymnastic and rhythmic gymnastics), sipa takraw, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, and volleyball.
For the differently-abled, there is goalball, aquatics, bocce, long jump, shot put and 100, 200, and 400 meter dash.