Davao City athletes are enthusiastic about competing in Palarong Pambansa 2024, set to begin at the Cebu City Sports Center on Tuesday afternoon, July 9, 2024.
In an interview with SunStar Davao via Messenger on Monday morning, July 8, Reynante Solitario, the Department of Education (DepEd) Davao City Division superintendent, said that athletes and coaches have been familiarizing themselves with the venues since they arrived in Cebu City.
“Nahuman na ang training nga 30 days para sa Palaro. They are very eager and inspired to play kay murag mao na gyud ni, this is it. They have been preparing this for quite a long time. Hopefully, ma achieve ma-increase atong golds compared to last year (Our 30-day training for the Games is complete. They are eager and inspired to compete, feeling this is their moment. They have prepared extensively for this. Hopefully, we can surpass last year’s gold medal count),” Solitario said.
Solitario assured that Dabawenyo athletes have the city’s support and prayers in their endeavors, acknowledging the coaches and trainers’ efforts in preparing the elementary and secondary student-athletes for Cebu Palaro.
He added, “Hopefully, ma-achieve mga dreams ug pangandoy nila, mudaug gyud, maka gold. Duna’y mga challenges along the way pero na patch gihapon concerns and issues (We hope their dreams and aspirations will come true, aiming for gold. While challenges lie ahead, we are addressing concerns and issues).”
While he refrained from making predictions about gold medals, Solitario expressed hope for an improvement over their previous 16 golds.
The Davao City contingent includes at least 470 athletes, coaches, chaperones, and officials, part of the 780-member Davraa delegation.
In the 2023 Palaro held in Marikina City, Davao Region achieved sixth place overall with 21 golds, 18 silvers, and 27 bronzes, significantly rising from their 11th place finish in 2019 (13 golds, 22 silvers, and 37 bronzes).
As in previous years, a Davao City Palaro gold medalist will receive a cash bonus of P40,000 (P25,000 from DepEd Davao Region and P15,000 from DepEd Davao City).
Silver and bronze medalists will receive P17,000 (P5,000 from DepEd Davao Region, P12,000 from DepEd Davao City) and P11,000 (P3,000 from DepEd Davao Region, P8,000 from DepEd Davao City) respectively.
DepEd Davao Region sports coordinator Alim Maguindanao explained that offering P25,000 for a Palaro gold and P5,000 for a silver motivates athletes to strive for the top prize. MLSA
