Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday urged the athletes from the province, who won medals for Western Visayas in the 2013 Palarong Pambansa in Dumaguete City, to deliver a better performance next year to wrest the overall championship from the National Capital Region.

While NCR has the numbers and the resources, training and discipline, Western Visayas will eventually catch up, Marañon said during the distribution of cash incentives to the Palaro gold, silver, and bronze medalists at the Capitol.

Marañon told the athletes that being a perennial second placer in the national Palaro should not make them stop aiming for the best. He also reminded them that winning is not everything and that the experience they gained while competing will remain with them.

The governor led the distribution of the cash incentives amounting to P769,000 to the top athletes.

Getting the biggest slice of the incentive were the 16 Negrense athletes who competed in the Special Events and helped Region VI captures the championship.

The 15 members of the secondary girls’ softball team from Domingo Lacson National High School received a total of P75,000 with every team member getting P5,000.

For clinching the championship in secondary boys’ baseball and elementary girls volleyball, the two teams from Negros Occidental received P65,000, with each of the 13 members also receiving P5,000.

Among the elementary athletes, May Therese Gula of Bago City received the biggest incentive with P20,000 for winning the gold in girls’ 400 meters and 800 meters, and as part of the team that won the 4x100m and 4x400m relay.

The 12-year-old Gula from Brgy. Sampinit, Bago City, has been offered an athletics scholarship at the Bacolod Tay Tung High School, where she will enroll in the coming school year.

Gula said she will use her incentive to buy school supplies and give the rest to her parents.

Secondary boys’ athletics highest pointer Christopher Lirazan, on the other hand, said he will spend a portion of his incentive to buy a “remembrance”.

Lirazan, who topped the secondary boys’ 100m, 200m, and 400m and was part of the quarter who placed second in the 4x100m relay, nixed offers from Manila schools and opted to enroll at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos in the coming school year where he will take up a Bachelor of Science in Education course.

The 17-year-old runner will joinc the May 24 to June 2 Philippine National Games at the Philippine Sports Complex in Pasig City.*NAB

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