Reg'l champs clash for glory in Batang Pinoy finals

MANILA, Philippines - The search for future sporting stars begins tomorrow when the Batang Pinoy national finals is staged at the Gov. San Luis Sports Complex in Naga.

All gold and silver medalists numbering over 200 from six regional eliminations organized by the Philippine Sports Commission since October vie in what could be the biggest multi-event competitions exclusive for student-athletes aged 15 years-old-and-below.

An elaborate opening ceremony is set at 4 p.m. today at Plaza Quezon with PSC commissioners Jolly Gomez and Chito Loyzaga leading the sports officials and guests welcoming the competing field which represent their respective local government units (LGUs).

“Our mission and vision in reviving Batang Pinoy is to search raw talents from the countryside that we can tap as future members of the developmental training pool. This early we already see a bright future for Philippine sports,” said Loyzaga.

Manila and Quezon City shared top honors in NCR elims with the Manileños, headed by triple gold medalists Gerry Santiago, ruling 29 out of 36 events. The QC tankers collected 30 gold medals in 44 events in the tournament sponsored by Smart Sports and British Council, Milo, Jollibee, Summit Mineral Water, Negros Navigation, Aboitiz, Kids 3 Food Supplement, RELIV Now for Kids and Growee Multivitamins.

Focus will also be on Tayabas and Laguna, which produced promising boxers in the just concluded Southern Tagalog elimination in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

In individual competition, Bianca Roxas-Chua Gotuaco sets out as the top favorite in archery after ruling the FITA 18-meter and Olympic Rounds in the NCR qualifying with the highest scores of 547 and 280, respectively, while Nina Carmela Zamora heads the badminton cast after sweeping the girls crown without losing a set.

“We have a lot of promising young athletes here, but we considered these two young girls as standouts the way they dominated their rivals. Let’s see how they play against their fellow gold medalists,” said Loyzaga.

Gotuaco, 14, and Zamora, 13, are both eligible candidates for the national team in the 2014 Youth Olympics with the former, a mainstay of International School-Manila, winning the silver medal in last summer US Games and the latter currently the No. 5 junior player in the Philippine Badminton Association Ranking System.