THE 2007 Palarong Pambansa held recently in Koronadal City in South Cotabato will be remembered not only for the spates of triumphs, but for the tragedies that had somehow diminished the luster of this annual sports spectacle.
The games began on a gloomy note when Carlos Mingie del Prado, a principal from Marinduque High School, succumbed to cardiopulmonary arrest caused by prolonged exposure to the scorching heat during the games’ opening-day parade on April 23.
Three days later, Edwin Golmatico, a teacher from Koronadal High School, died of heatstroke, again due to the intense heat. Golmatico acted as one of the coordinators during the parade.
And during the games, scores of athletes and officials were treated for heatstroke, as the hot weather continued to descend on the city, until the final medal was won.
As if the death toll during the games wasn’t enough, two athletes and two officials from Cagayan Valley died when the bus they were riding bound for Tuguegarao collided with a Manila-bound bus in Cordon, Isabela.
Those who died were identified as Maynard Anog, a football player; Shane Apolonio, a member of the sepak takraw team; Leonardo Adriano, a school principal from Amulong and Manolo Magugac, a football trainor from Alcala town.
In all, the Palaro-related tragedies have claimed five lives, not counting Jimboy Espejo, the driver of the ill-starred Florida Bus involved in the accident.
Personal triumphs, regional pride
Even as gloom surrounded this year’s Palaro, athletes, who trained long and hard for this annual sports fiesta, gave it their best shot and ran away with golden and record-breaking feats.
And along the way, they also honored their respective regions.
National Capital Region, traditionally a powerhouse in sports, ran away with the overall crown in the elementary and secondary divisions, capping its dominance when it ruled the basketball event in both divisions.
But NCR’s dominance did not extend in other sports, as Central Luzon topped girls’ volleyball and Western Visayas beat the Big City bets in football.
In all, NCR racked up a total of 365.4 points, 218.4 delivered by the boys and 147 from the girls’ side.
Western Visayas made it at second spot on victories in athletics, volleyball, softball, soccer and boys’ table tennis.
They collected 218.5 points, while next is Southern Tagalog, as its swimmers piled enough wins that totaled 202 points.
NCR, which collected 275 points, came away with enough points to beat arch-rival Western Visayas, which settled for second spot with 236.5 points.
Central Visayas is third with 135; Southern Tagalog A is fourth with 130 and host Cotabato Region ended up fifth with 127.
In sixth to 10th places in the high school level were Central Luzon (122.9), Central Visayas (97), Cotabato (80), Davao Region (53.5), Ilocos (32.9), Zamboanga Peninsula (32) and Cordillera Administrative Region (28.5).
In boxing, Davao held sway after it swept all five gold medals staked in the games. It won golds courtesy of Jonathan Tawan (light flyweight), Victor Saludar III (pin), Engelbert Moralde (paper), Ryan Lumacad (mosquito) and Mark Anthony Barige (powder).
Next Palaro host
Meanwhile, a city or province in Luzon will host the 2008 Palarong Pambansa.
Education Undersecretary Ramon Bacani said 17 regional heads of the Palaro Central Board will decide by July which province or city in Luzon will hold the Palarong Pambansa next year.
“Following the rotation of hosting, we will go back to Luzon and look for the next host there,” said Bacani.
He said four provinces and cities are bidding to become the next host of the Palaro, including Palayan City in Nueva Ecija, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, Laoag in Ilocos Norte and Marikina City in the National Capital Region.
THE 2007 Palarong Pambansa held recently in Koronadal City in South Cotabato will be remembered not only for the spates of triumphs, but for the tragedies that had somehow diminished the luster of this annual sports spectacle. 
