Cebu City is currently ranked 4th among competing cities and divisions in the ongoing Palarong Pambansa, thanks to its powerhouse dancesport athletes. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — One of the exciting new features of Palarong Pambansa 2024 is the separate medal count for the cities or divisions competing in the meet.
This new addition is separate from the traditional region-based medal tally.
And host, Cebu City is finding itself fighting in the top four of the overall medal tally in the division rankings. With 10 gold medals, 10 silvers, and five bronzes as of July 13’s latest medal tally, the host city is sitting in fourth place with three days left in the country’s biggest gathering of student athletes.
Almost half of the 500-plus athletes that comprise Central Visayas are from Cebu City.
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Meanwhile, Manila leads with 16 golds, 11 silvers, and 13 bronzes, followed by Iloilo with a 16-8-9 count, and Rizal with an 11-11-13 tally.
The bulk of Cebu City’s gold medals came from its dancesport couples who dominated the inaugural inclusion of this event in the Palarong Pambansa last Thursday evening, at the GMall of Cebu.
Cebu City’s dancesport couples contributed eight gold medals, while two golds are from its talented chess players.
Central Visayas’ Dumaguete City has three gold medals, three silvers, and three bronzes, while Danao City has a 2-2-2 tally all coming from its dancesport athletes, while the rest of its member cities in Lapu-Lapu and Bayawan have one gold medal apiece.
The division medal rankings is the latest addition to Palarong Pambansa 2024 as it returned to Cebu after 30 years.
Its main goal is to identify top athletes from their specific divisions and schools as was suggested by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) earlier this year through Commissioner Edward Hayco.
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Hayco stated in an earlier interview that identifying what particular city or school the Palarong Pambansa medalist come from will greatly help in identifying the strong sports of these cities/divisions.
This in turn, will help establish these cities or divisions’ nationwide grassroots sports program.
Palarong Pambansa 2024 marks Cebu City’s first hosting of the meet in 30 years. In 1994, it hosted the games and built the Cebu City Sports Center (CCDC) for the purpose.