THE Negros Island Region (NIR) will face a tough challenge in the upcoming 2017 Palarong Pambansa in Antique from April 23-28.
Aside from the strong competition in various sports lined up, the region will also hurdle the test of patience as they will be billeted at the Tobias Fornier Catholic School and Dao Catholic High School, both situated 28 kilometers away from the Binirayan Sports Complex.
For NIR coaches, the distance and the hours of travel would not be suitable for student-athletes who, directly or indirectly, will be greatly affected by the long distance.
Aside from Western Visayas Region, where host-Antique belongs together with Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan and Guimaras, only Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) have favorable billeting areas.
ARMM and CAR are the only two which will join the Western Visayas contingent just a kilometer away from the sports complex.
Bicol Region is assigned at the Assemblyman Segundo Moscoso Memorial School and San Pedro National High School only four kilometers away.
Caraga Region will be billeted 24 kilometers away at Carit-an Central School and Lirio M. Escano National High School.
Northern Mindanao Region will be hosted 30 kilometers away at the St. Augustine’s Academy of Patnongon.
Defending over-all champion National Capital Region (NCR) and Cagayan Valley Region will have the farthest at 42 kilometers.
NCR will be housed at the Antique Vocational School as Region 2 will be at Bugasong Central School and PangPang National High School.
Other regions will be billeted from an average distance of 12 kilometers from the sports complex.
Playing venues are athletics, basketball, special events, tennis, and aero gymnastics at the Binirayan Sports Complex; archery - Pis’anan National High School-Sibalom; arnis - Patnongon Municipal gym;
Aquatics and swimming - Binirayan swimming pool; badminton and wushu - Saint Anthony’s College, De Wit Hall; billiards - Robinsons Place Antique; basketball - Binirayan Sports Complex, San Pedro gym, Guinsang-an gym and Bugasong Municipal gym; boxing - EBJ Freedom Park, Capitol ground;
Chess - University of Antique-Sibalom Library; football - Binirayan Sports Complex, Julian Pacificador High School-Hamtic, University of Antique- Sibalom ground, St. Anthony’s College grounds and Belison football field; futsal - Hamtic basketball court; gymnastics - Binirayan Sports Complex; sepak takraw/sipa - DASJMS covered court and Diosdado Macapagal gym; softball - Camp General Leonardo Fullion-San Fernando; table tennis - Antique Electrical Cooperative covered court.
Taekwondo - Belison Municipal gym; volleyball - University of Antique gym, Sibalom Municipal gym, Sta. Rita gym and Egana Barangay gym; wrestling - San Fernando Barangay gym; and pencak silat and dance sports - Antique National School covered gym. (HGD)
