MANILA, 7 November 2003 — Davao Region overtook Central Luzon and Northern Mindanao for the overall title in the secondary division as the Palarong Pambansa drew to a close at the Mindanao Civic Center in Tubod, Lanao del Norte.

At distant third place after the penultimate day, Davao slipped past its rivals as it captured the football and girls’ volleyball crowns and an equivalent of 11 and six gold medals, respectively, overtaking Central Luzon and Northern Mindanao in one of the biggest upsets in Palaro history.

Overall, Davao registered a total harvest of 43 gold, 39 silver and 24 bronze medals, nosing out Central Luzon’s haul of 36 gold, nine silver and 20 bronze medals and Northern Mindanao’s 35-gold, 39-silver and 29-bronze medal count.

This marked the first time that Davao won the overall title in both the elementary and high school categories although it achieved the feat over a field minus the big city bets particularly the powerhouse National Capital Region, Western Visayas and Southern Tagalog. Completing the medal tally were Zamboanga Peninsula (15-33-22), Central Mindanao (15-16-20), Bicol (12-14-21), CARAGA (8-8-30), Western Visayas (6-8-13), Cordillera Region (4-5-6) and Eastern Visayas (3-3-3).

Ilocos, Southern Tagalog’s Mimaropa and Calabarzon regions, Metro Manila and Central Visayas did not participate while the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao sent a token delegation on opening day but did not compete due to Ramadan.

Lanao Wants Own Share of SEAG

Following their success in bringing the Palarong Pambansa in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Norte officials are now bidding for the co-hosting of the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.

Gov. Imelda Dimaporo reiterated the province’s intention to host at least one or two events of the 2005 biennial games.

She said the 500-million pesos Mindanao Civic Center, spread over 16 hectares of bayside property in Bgy. Sagadan, would be an ideal off-Manila site for sports disciplines that are popular in Mindanao.

“We have already sent a letter to the Philippine Olympic Committee, but until now they haven’t replied yet,” said Gov. Dimaporo. “I think the Mindanao Civic Center is at par with the best of Southeast Asia if not the whole of Asia.”

The Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee had earlier announced its intention of picking two or more venues outside Metro Manila for the 2005 SEAG.

Antonio Bags Bangkok Chess Title

Grandmaster Rogelio “Joey” Antonio (ELO 2522) of Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, went for a silent truce with Russia’s International Master Alexei Romanov to emerge as champion with a total of 7.5 points after nine rounds in the 3rd Bangkok Chess Club Open in Pattaya, Thailand.

Tied with four other players going into the seventh round, the Army man Antonio managed to pull away from his rivals via a draw with IM Myo Naing in 48 moves of a Caro-Kann and Finnish chesser Peter Kekki in 36 moves of a French Winawer before halving the point with Romanov in 15 moves of a Caro-Kann in the final round.

The former newspaper boy turned chess giant was able to deposit immediately the much-needed points for a safe lead in the early goings of the four-day event, harvesting wins opposite Terry Noff of Norway, Wung Zaw Thun of Myanmar, Rahul Shetty, V.G. Negi and fighting draws with top seed GM Alexei Barsov and defending champion GM Ruslan Pogorelov.

Aguilar Wows Big Crowd in Vigan

Caltex-Revtex stalwart Glenn Aguilar re-affirmed his status as the country’s No. 1 rider by winning three races in another swashbuckling show before a roaring crowd in the 2nd Evaristo “Titong” Singson Memorial Cup Motocross Open at the Tamag Hills, Vigan, Ilocos Sur, recently.

Aguilar, who has virtually wrapped up Asia’s most prestigious title in the FIM Asian Motocross Championship in Macau recently, won the first and second heats of the premier Pro Open with a flourish as he relegated his frustrated pursuers-Popeye Rubi (2nd) and Ernie Leongson (3rd)-to the backseat.

His Revtex teammate Bebet dela Cruz placed 4th while Jing Leongson finished 5th. Aguilar, nicknamed “The Rocket” due to his speed and daring stunts, also topped the first heat of the Pro 125 race.

Underscoring Caltex-Revtex’s dominance of the motocross circuit are two of its standouts in Kenneth “Wonder Boy” San Andres and Eric Mitra, who also pulled off stirring victories in this competition.

San Andres, who is coming off a 2nd place feat in the recent Macau Supercross, dominated the Mini-Class and then placed 2nd in the Beginner’s Production that was topped by Mitra.

Senator Proposes Ban on Boxing

A Philippine senator proposed a ban on boxing as a sport following the death of a boxer during a match in a southern province. “Boxing should be outlawed as a sport,” said Senator Aquilino Pimentel. “It is brutal and punishing and sometimes causes death.” Last week, boxer Freddie Gimay died from injuries sustained in a match in the town of Titay in Zamboanga Sibugay province, 810 kilometers south of Manila.

Gimay collapsed during the eighth round, and was rushed to hospital. He died the following day.

Disabled Group Hits Philspada

Officials of two different handicap groups echoed such sentiment, as they called out for a restructuring of leadership within the sectoral unit. The subject of their ire is Mike Barredo of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), previously the head of the Philippine Sports for the Differently Abled (Philspada), which they accused of monopolizing sports for the disabled.

“Philspada is not an umbrella federation per se, but an association itself which has no program to speak of,” said Nelso Milla, executive vice president and overall coordinator of the Movement for the Advancement of the Differently Abled Leaders and Athletes.

2 SEAG-Bound Bodybuilders Test Positive for Drugs

Two bodybuilders were dropped from the national team for the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games this December after testing positive for banned substances.

Removed from the RP team were bantam Edward Libosada and welter Albert Cuesta who qualified for the SEA Games squad after they topped their respective divisions in the Mr. and Ms. Philippines 2003 held last April 23 at the Music Museum in Greenhills, San Juan. The event served as qualifying tournament for bodybuilders going to Vietnam.

Six were actually found to have failed the test, including Libosada and Cuesta, but the other four failed to make the team. They were identified as lightweight Henry Resimo, welter Alfredo Cornel and light middle champion Raque Agaton and runner-up Modesto Carrera.