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By Eddie G. Alinea, Contributor
FROM the time of its inception 60
years ago, the Palarong Pambansa, initially known as the Bureau of
Public Schools Interscholastics Athletic Association (BPSIAA) Meet,
has been one of the main sources of young provincial talents that
eventually carry the countries colors in various interna-tional
competitions, including the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and
Olympic Games.
The recent 2008 Palaro held
in Puerto Princesa City in celebration of the Games’ Diamond
Anniversary, was, likewise, used by the Philippine Sports Commission
as its main talent identification program to discover fresh talents
the government agency hopes to train in preparation to the 2012
London Olympic Games.
The PSC, according to
chairman Butch Ramirez, is eyeing at least 100 top performers that
emerged in the Puerto Princesa conclave, who he said will be sent to
the different training centers set in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao
and fielded to next year’s Youth Asian Games and the 2010 Youth
Olympic Games, both scheduled to be held in Singapore.
PSC Commissioner Eric
Loretizo, for his part, said that based on the Palaro results,
identifying the much-sought after talents won’t be that hard even
as he identified no less than a dozen outstanding performers that he
hopes to include in a short list of probable candidates for
inclusion.
The newly appointed commissioner
was referring to Cordillera Autono-mous Region’s Maria Felice
Ellaga, Maika de Oro of West Visayas, National Capital Region’s
Maureen Schrijvers and Elena Camiring, also of West Visayas, who all
broke the old Palaro records in their respective events.
Ellaga set a new mark in
girls’ secondary high jump of 1.61 meters, a feat duplicated by De
Oro in the discus throw (32,62 meters), Schrijvers in the 200 meters
(26.7 seconds) and Camikring in javelin (39.63 meters).
Besides running the fastest
200 meters, Schrijvers also topped the 100 meters, crowning herself
as the meet’s sprint queen and high jump.
Camiring also won the shot
put.
Since the BPSIAA was
started in 1948, almost all the talents that represented the country
in all the Asian Games, SEA Games, Olympic Games, continental
championships and world champion-ships came from the annual
conclave.
Andres Franco, the first
Filipino Asian gold medalist in athletics who also wore the
country’s colors in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games was one of
them as well as fellow high jumper Ciriaco Baronda, tracksters Isaac
Gomez, Enrique Bautista, Rogelio Onofre, once Asian Games record
holder in 100 meters, former Asian sprint queens Inocencia Solis and
Mona Sulaiman, marathoners Benjamin Silva-Netto, now
secretary-general of the Philippine Amateur Track and Field
Association, and Victor Idava.
Count latter day greats
Lydia de Vega-Mercado, Isidro del Prado and swimmers Jacinto Cayco,
Parsons Nabiula and Nancy Deano former world weightilifting champio
Salvador del Rosario, and boxers Leopoldo Cantancio and Leopoldo
Serrantes, bronze medallist in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, are but few
names among the long list of Palaro brightest products who have in
one way or another, brought honors not only to their names but the
country as well.
The BPSIAA that produced
such illustrious names as Franco, Baronda, Cayco, Sulaiman and many
others, lasted for 25 years after then President Marcos, in 1974
changed the name to Palarong Pambansa where the non-school youths
were included as participants in addition to schools athletes.
From 1984 to 1987, the
Palaro program was suspended and was revived in 1988 in Cagyan de
Oro where competitions were reverted back to in school-youth. In
1994, the Palaro became a three-level affair that introduced the
collegiate category involving athletes in the Private Schools
Athletic Association.
The program was again
cancelled in 1999, resumed in 2000 only to be cancelled again in
2001. Competitions were revived in 2002 and 2003, suspended anew in
2004 then played again in 2005 up to the present time.
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