NAGA CITY – Host Bicol fares better in the secondary level of the ongoing Palarong Pambansa as its young athletes hang on to 5th place behind frontrunners National Capital Region (NCR), Southern Tagalog Calabarzon, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas.

        In the elementary level, NCR continues to dominate the games, followed by Southern Tagalog Calabarzon and Central Visayas on points so far earned as the Palaro skirmishes entered its fifth day Thursday morning, May 11.

        The Bicol elementary school athletes so far placed 9th in the 17-region athletic meet, earning 19 points so far, compared to a haul of 207 points by powerhouse NCR and 161 points by second placer Southern Tagalog Calabarzon (see summary of points earned on Page 7).

        In the medal count, Bicol scooped 4 gold medals, 2 silvers, and 5 bronzes, or a total of 11 medals as of Wednesday evening, May 10, 2006, placing the Bicolano athletes on the 6th rung. Comparatively, frontrunner NCR has a total haul of 44 medals as of reporting period; Western Visayas, 31; Southern Tagalog Calabarzon, 29; Central Visayas, 15.

        Bicolana Aiza Rosero produced the first golden triumph with her 36.95 meter feat in the secondary girls javelin throw. The winning distance surpassed her personal best of 32 meters.

        The second and third medals for Bicol came on the first day of the swimming competition Tuesday, May 9, when Naga’s John Bryle Zapanta and Klarenz Chavez ruled the 400m freestyle and 200m butterfly, respectively.

        The fourth medal was snared by the local athletes in arnis

        Meanwhile, members of city hall’s Task Force Palaro held an emergency meeting which was presided over by Vice Mayor Gabby Bordado to lay out contingency plans in the event that Typhoon Caloy hits the region on the closing days of the athletic meet. Flood-prone billeting centers have been identified, as well as alternative playing venues in case of intolerable weather.

        DepEd’s sports director Len Toledo told mediamen that there have been instances when the annual games were hit by typhoons. “In those cases, the games pushed through and churned up champions” he said.

        In last Wednesday’s games, Joerelo Estocado of Bicol clocked 56.7 seconds, placing third in the 400m hurdles, behind Central Visayas and NCR.

        In basketball, host Bicol moved to the semifinals after routing Davao region, 62-56. Earlier, the Bicol cagers humbled WesternVisayas, Cotabato Region, and Caraga. Palaro Media Center thru communication facilities by Naga Central Kabalikat.