LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Athletes of the provincial government-formed ‘Team Pangasinan’ will undergo 11-day in-house training at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center (NRSCC) in Lingayen prior to the Batang Pinoy – Luzon Leg eliminations this year.
From October 8 to18, the ‘best bets’ of the province who will compete in 17 sporting events will go through rigid training, tough conditioning and tune up games to keep them battle-ready for the Luzon eliminations which will be hosted by Vigan City from October 22-28.
Provincial Sports Management and Development Council (PSMDC) Executive Officer Modesto Operania said the in-house training has been conducted by the provincial government since the administration of former Pangasinan governor and now 5th district Representative Amado T. Espino, Jr. to prepare ‘Team Pangasinan’ for the Luzon-wide clash of athletes.
Owing to the full-support of the provincial government in partnership with province-based schools divisions of Department of Education, ‘Team Pangasinan’ athletes, according to Operania, have been consistent placers in various Batang Pinoy sporting events, placing the whole delegation in the circle of top-performing delegations in the Luzon leg and national championships.
This year, Team Pangasinan will field some 260 players (to compete in under 13 and 13-15 year-old tournaments) with about 60 coaches.
Pangasinan delegation will compete in archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, chess, karatedo, tennis, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, cycling, wrestling and wushu.
Team Pangasinan delegates were selected via provincial eliminations held on July 21, 22, 23 at the NRSCC, which was participated in by 3,000 athletes from DepEd Pangasinan I, Pangasinan 2, Alaminos City, San Carlos City and Urdaneta City.
Batang Pinoy is a grassroots-based sports undertaking by the Philippine Sports Commission which aims to widen the base in the selection of potential athletes for national and international competitions.
By Dexter A. See
