The Abanse Negrense table tennis tournament provincial championshipkicked off in La Carlota City on November 30, Wednesday and ended with La Carlota City and Bacolod City ping-pong players among the top LGU teams that nabbed the most wins.
A total of 80 players participated in the tournament from 22 LGU teams from the northern and southern Negros districts.
From the north were Talisay City, Silay City, Victorias City, E.B. Magalona, Manapla, Cadiz City, Calatrava, Toboso, San Carlos City, Bacolod City, and Sagay City.
Ilog, Kabankalan City, Binalbagan, Pontevedra, Isabela, Moises Padilla, La Castellana, San Enrique, Murcia, Bago City, and La Carlota City were the participating teams in the southern Negros districts.
The players competed in ten categories – Girls 10 and Under, Boys 10 and Under, Girls 15 and Under, Boys 15 and Under, Girls 18 and Under, Boys 18 and Under, Women’s Open, Men’s Open, Men’s Executive 45 Up, and Veterans 60 Up.
La Carlota City nabbed a total of four championship titles in the Girls 15 and Under, Boys 15 and Under, Boys 18 and Under, and in the Men’s Open categories. Bacolod City, on the other hand, took home three championship awards in the Girls 18 and Under, Men’s Executive 45 Up, and Veterans 60 Up divisions.
Furthermore, the representative from the City of Bago was named the champion in the Women’s Open category, while Binalbagan was the champion in the Boys 10 and under division. And the Toboso also nabbed the championship title in the Girls 10 and Under category.
Present during the tournament’s awarding ceremony were Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, Provincial Sport Office head Anthony Carlo Agustin, and La Carlota City Mayor Rex Jalandoon.
In his short welcome speech, Jalandoon emphasized the continuity of the sports programs and the development of sports talents in their city, as well as commended the Abanse Negrense Grassroots Sports Development initiative.
Agustin, on the other hand, expressed his sincere gratitude to La Carlota City for being the host venue of the tournament. He also thanked Lacson for his time and effort to be present in most if not all of the sports programs of the province.
Lacson also gave a short message that emphasized the plans of the provincial government to spread out the competitions to attract the local communities to see and join the various sports activities and programs he initiated. He also stressed that the Sports Programs are focusing on the development of skills of the Negrense youth at grassroots levels.
Lastly, Lacson reminded the participants to prioritize their education before venturing into the sports they are passionate about, saying he hopes to produce student-athletes, instead of athlete-students.
The tournament was made possible through the collective efforts and partnership of the Negros Occidental Provincial Government, the Provincial Sports Office, La Carlota City, and table tennis provincial tournament manager and coach Marell Lagunday-Alvarez.*
