Lingayen –  Western Visayas, riding high on the victories of its women players in volleyball, swimming, badminton and in athletics and in sepak takraw, successfully defended its  crown  it won last year in the Private Schools Athletic Association PRISAA national games here.

      

Dr. Gonzalo Duque, president of the host PRISAA Ilocos region, said the PRISAA national games achieved its purpose of fostering unity, camaraderie and sportsmanship among the competing delegations, all virtues that could make a good athlete.

      

Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez, Jr., chairman of the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association, was the guest speaker during the closing ceremony. He congratulated officials and members of the PRISAA for the successful national competition among member private schools.
         
For five days, the defending champion Western Visayas amassed 71 golds, 75 silvers and 61 bronzes to earn its second straight championship, the first time of which was in Zamboanga City last year.

             

Southern Mindanao ruled in baseball and softball, placed second in athletics to win second over all with 61 golds, 52 silvers and 50 bronzes while Central Visayas is third with 47 gold, 30 silvers and 56 bronzes after its domination of table tennis.

       

Southern Tagalog managed to be in fourth place with 33 golds, 40 silvers and 30 bronzes despite not having won any event, followed by host Ilocos region which came strong in athletics and collected 26 golds, 29 silvers and 20 bronzes.

       

A jubilant Fr. Emilio Jaruda, head of Western Visayas delegation and the region¹s PRISAA president, said they prepared well to defend of their title and were glad they succeeded.

             

He said they came to Pangasinan well prepared, bringing their own kitchen and cook and their own beddings because Dr. Gonzalo Duque, Ilocos Region 1 president, earlier said to “expect for the worst”.

            

The accommodation was good and they were quartered at the Pangasinan National High School which is only a few meter walk to the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center where most of the games were played.

            

Western Visayas will host the next national games which will be held either in Iloilo City or Bacolod City, said Fr. Jaruda of the Negros Occidental Recolletos.

             

Tagged by Jaruda as the most be-medalled athlete of the champion delegation was 18-year old Kristin Cabasac of the Lacson Colleges Foundation in Bacolod City who bagged five golds in the swimming events

Rounding up the other finishers are  Northern Capital Region North, sixth, with 10 golds which it got when it won only in basketball against Southern Mindanao; Bicol Region, seventh, with seven golds, 22 silvers and seven bronzes;   Northern Capital Region South, eight, six golds, all in taekwondo, four silvers in table tennis and one bronze also in table tennis; Region III, ninth, with three golds, three silvers and 27 bronzes.

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