BACOLOD City garnered 327 medals in the regular sports and 40 more in the para games and seven in the demo sports to claim the over-all championships in the just-concluded 2017 Palarong Negros Island Region (NIR) in Dumaguete City.
The “City of Smiles” athletes collected 156 golds, 94 silvers and 77 bronzes in the regular sports with 87 golds, 61 silvers, and 43 bronzes in the secondary division, and 69 gold medals, 33 silvers and 34 bronzes for the elementary division.
In the para games, Bacolod collected 17 golds, 14 silvers and 14 bronzes with three golds, two silvers, and also a pair of bronze medals in the demo sports.
“It is with immense pride and honor that I congratulate all the athletes of Bacolod City for winning the overall championships,” Mayor Evelio Leonardia said.
“We are very happy with the outstanding performance of our athletes, which we can only call as an overwhelming success,” he added.
The Bacolod City delegation ranked first among 16 city school divisions with 156 golds, 94 silvers, and 77 bronzes, or a total of 327 medals, according to the Overall Medal Count Final and Official Result.
“We thank God for this achievement and our gratitude to everyone who contributed and extended their efforts to this triumph,” said City Schools Division Sports Coordinator Eden Ariola.
Athletics manager Mark Molina of STI West Negros University, which is under the Negros Occidental Private Schools Sports, Cultural and Educational Association (Nopsscea), was also happy with the results.
“This is a powerhouse team of Bacolod and Nopsscea. Though initially some schools would have wanted to preserve the Nopsscea team as another division, but when advised that this is where DepEd's direction is heading to, they just abided with it,” he added.
“With our performance this has validated the initiative of combining both forces to take supremacy in sports in the region. I wish the same spirit and passion be extended to the next level,” Molina added.
Negros Occidental followed with 73 gold medals, 83 silvers and 73 bronzes in regular sports as Bago City finished in third spot with 26 golds, 34 silvers and 32 bronzes while host-Dumaguete City settled at fourth spot with 25 golds, 33 silvers, and 42 bronzes as La Carlota City completed the top five finishers with 19-20-19 medal haul.
Completing the medal tally were Cadiz City (13-14-13), Escalante City (10-11-13), Sagay City (8-9-18), Negros Oriental 7-20-35), San Carlos City (7-6-18), Silay City (6-5-12), Tanjay City (3-3-8), Bayawan City (3-0-4), Kabankalan City (2-22-19), Guihungan City (1-4-16), and Bais City (1-1-10). (HGD)