Better to spend for athletes’ training than host Palaro, says Young

FORGET about Cebu City hosting the Palarong Pambansa.

For Cebu City councilor Joy Augustus Young, Cebu already proved it can host the national multi-sporting meet well when it was held here in 1994.
Young was one of the persons behind Cebu City’s successful hosting of the sporting spectacle right after the Cebu City Sports Center was built that year.

“There is no need for us to bid and host Palarong Pambansa. We already had our share in 1994 and we made it very successful. There is no need for Cebu to prove to everyone that we are capable,” Young said in a press conference at The Port Seafood Restaurant last Thursday.

In Cebu’s hosting in 1994, the Central Visayas team placed second to perennial champion National Capital Region (NCR). It was the highest finish for Region 7 ever.

Many are hoping Cebu would bid to host the national meet again but councilor Young, the chairman of education of Cebu City, thinks there is a better way to spend the city’s money.

“It is time to share [the hosting] with other cities who want to boost their tourism and other capabilities. I would rather give our resources to training and send our athletes to the Palarong Pambansa rather than hosting it,” said Young.

Young also thinks it would be a risky move to host anew, especially with the success it had in 1994. He said that because of that success, it would be difficult to duplicate what they were able to achieve the last time they hosted the meet.

Cebu City tried to bid for last year’s Palarong Pambansa but backed out along with Negros Oriental and Iloilo City. This paced the way for Antique to host the 2017 edition.

“It’s a very different situation if you compare 1994 and now. We don’t need it to make Cebu a bigger city. Cebu City is already a very developed city and we have to share the exposure to other cities,” Young said.

Meanwhile, Young is hoping the Central Visayas team can reclaim the fourth spot it has been holding for years in this meet. The team is coming from a bitter 2017 campaign, where it placed ninth, the worse placing it had in its Palarong Pambansa stint.