ILAGAN CITY —The best and most promising track and field stars in the region take centerstage when the 12th Southeast Asian Youth Athletic Championship goes full blast today (Monday) at the sprawling Ilagan City Sports Complex in this enchanting city.
A total of 18 gold medals will be at stake in the opening salvo of this prestigious age-group tourney that serves as appetizer for the 2017 Ayala Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships on Thursday also at the same venue.
The opening ceremonies turned into a memorable night of song and dance numbers as Ilagan City Mayor Evelyn Diaz joined Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) secretary general Steve Hontiveros and Department of Labor and Employment Sec. Silvestre Bello in declaring the games open.
John Carlo Yuzon, a product of this region who plucked the gold medal in last yearís Palarong Pambansa in Legazpi City, lit the championship flame while fellow Palarong Pambansa gold medalist Cherry Mae Banatao led the oath of sportsmanship, much to the delight of close to a hundred delegates from Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iraq, Malaysia, Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Timor Leste.
Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa) president Philip Ella Juico was supposed to grace the opening-day festivities, but pulled out at the last minute to attend to an urgent personal matter.
He, however, issued a statement to welcome both local and foreign delegates.
ìPatafa welcomes all our young men and women from Southeast Asia,î said Juico, who also once served as chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
ìYour presence in this beautiful city of Ilagan in this great province of Isabela reaffirms the truism that sports transcends all boundaries. I urge all the youth athletes to exemplify sportsí pristine values of integrity, selflessness, discipline and all other values that make our nations great.î
But spotlight will be trained on Veruel Verdadero and Jane Marie Cambonga, two prized members of the national pool who are looking to book a slot in the national track and field squad that would campaign in the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur this August.
A 15-year old student from Immaculate Conception in Dasmarinas, Cavite, Verdadero is looking for nothing but golden finishes in the all of his five events following a dominant performance in the Batang Pinoy National Championships in Tagum City, Davao del Norte last year.
He will compete in the boysí 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, 4×100 relay and 4×400 relay where he looms as one of the favorites.
ìI am eyeing no less than the gold medal,î said Verdadero, who ruled the boysí 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter and 4×100-meter run before crashing with a hamstring injury in the Batang Pinoy last December.
On the same note, 17-year old Cambonga of Paliparan National High School also in Cavite is tipped to dominate the throwing events.
She will vie in the girlsí javelin throw in the morning before marching back to action in the afternoon to compete in the girlsí discuss throw.
This tourney is presented by the City of Ilagan and sponsored by Ayala Corporation with Milo, Philippine Sports Commission and the International Amateur Athletic Federation as co-presentor and Foton Philippines, UCPB Gen and Run Rio as minor sponsors.