By MARK REY MONTEJO
LAOAG CITY – It was a poetic ending for National Capital Region as nature joined in its celebration for its massive performance in the 2025 Palarong Pambansa that ended under heavy rains – just like the medals its well-trained athletes harvested.
Home of the past and future of Philippine sports, the 65th edition of the premium grassroots meet was again dominated by the Big City athletes as they ran away with 117 golds, 70 silvers, and 50 bronzes – as of Saturday afternoon.
NCR athletes and officials are just waiting for the official closure of the week-long event to formalize their claim on their 18th overall championship in the annual event designed for elementary and secondary student-athletes.
The closing ceremony is to be held at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 31. There, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur will be formally announced as Palaro’s next host
They highlighted their runaway wins in medal-rich athletics and swimming by authoring new records including one that stood for two decades before it was shattered.
They also surpassed their medal-haul in the Cebu edition last year that saw them capture only 98 golds , 66 silvers, and 74 bronzes.
Leading the NCR’s assault were swimmers Titus Sia and Sophia Garra who delivered superb performances to complete their seven-gold haul in the elementary boys and girls, respectively.
Both 12 years old, Sia and Garra became the most bemedalled after sweeping all their events in the annual competition which was organized by Department of Education (DepEd) and supported by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
And despite falling short in the secondary boys 5-on-5 basketball where Davao region proudly hoisted the trophy, National University-Nazareth School (NUNS) bounced back and swept the reigning back-to-back champion Western Visayas’ Bacolod Tay Tung, 25-12, 25-14, 25-8, in secondary girls volleyball.
Sprinters Jeralyn Rodriguez (5), Pi Durden Wangkay (4), and Cris Ivan Domingo (3) gave an extra push with record-shattering acts alongside gymnast Arman Hernandez Jr. (5) and swimmer Patricia Mae Santor (5) with their respective top honors.
Meanwhile, Dasmariñas woodpusher Mar Aviel Carriedo flexed his might and won six golds in the secondary boys chess after winning individual and team events of the blitz, standard, and rapid to bolster CALABARZON (47-68-66) medal bid.
Barefoot trackster Trixia Anne Tolentino’s three-gold win added fuel Western Visayas to a runner-up finish with 44-53-58, beating Davao Region (42-28-36) and Northern Mindanao (31-26-46), which rose dramatically from its 14-27-43 at ninth-place finish last year.
Central Luzon came in next with 29-25-36 tally followed by Central Visayas (25-32-51), CARAGA (21-20-43), Cordillera Administrative Region (17-13-11), Eastern Visayas (16-17-21), SOCSKSARGEN (15-25-36), host Ilocos (13-16-27), Bicol (6-9-31), National Academy of Sports (6-2-6), Cagayan Valley (4-11-18), MIMAROPA (4-6-5), Zamboanga Peninsula (3-17-14), Bangsamoro ARMM (2-3-5), and metal-less Philippine Schools Overseas.
In Para Games, Western Visayas reigned supreme with 23 golds, 21 silvers, and 14 bronzes, while Zamboanga Peninsula (4-2-1) topped Demo Sports.
