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VIGAN—Pangasinan
as athletics country?
It’s
possible, especially if the inroads their track and
field athletes are making in the Philippine Olympic
Festival is any indication.
That’s
not to say the province is shedding its image as a
hotbed for basketball and cycling talents. Pangasinan
just wants to give other athletes a chance.
“On a
municipal level, everybody knows basketball enjoys
support anywhere you go,” Janet de Vera said. “In
cycling, they’re an organized group as well. What we’re
doing with our other athletes is just giving them a
platform where they can excel.”
Excellence has been a byword for Pangasinan here, as it
continues to lord over athletics. As of the medal count
yesterday, Pangasinan tracksters accounted for eight of
the nine gold medals it has won overall, more than twice
as many as second-running
Baguio City.
“I think
we’re seeing the fruits of our success that began nine
years ago,” Nol Bravo, Pangasinan’s sports coordinator
said. “We understand that people from other parts of the
country, especially in Manila, have known us for
producing basketball players and cyclists. But there are
other sports we can excel in, and that’s what the CVP is
all about.”
Besides
athletics, the CVP is also aggressively promoting
swimming and junior-level boxing.
Athletes
make full use of the Narciso Ramos Sports Complex, a
modern sports stadium that has an Olympic-standard track
and field, an air-conditioned basketball gym, and a
boxing ring that features different boxing paraphernalia
for aspiring pugs.
In the
last day of athletics competition Thursday, Pangasinan
is expecting to win four more gold medals.
“Pangasinan is serious about its sports program, the way
our athletes are serious about winning,” de Vera said.
“I guess that’s what makes Camp Victory an appropriate
name. We want to win.” |
