First P-Noy National Games set in Negros May 23-29

MANILA, Philippines—Filipino athletes will have another proving ground in the first P-Noy National Games slated for May 23 to 29 in the cities of Bacolod, Bago, Talisay and Silay in Negros Occidental.

The event, named after President Aquino, is aimed at discovering new talents for the national team and serving as a qualifier for the Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia in late 2011.

“National athletes should prove themselves against unknown athletes,” said Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richie Garcia on Monday. “If their performance is not good enough, especially in measurable events, we can replace them.”

PSC commissioner Jolly Gomez, head of the organizing committee, said 23 national sports associations (NSAs) have agreed to hold competitions in the meet.

Events on tap are athletics, bowling, dragon boat, equestrian, fencing, women’s football, gymnastics, judo, muay Thai, pencak silat, sailing, softball, table tennis, taekwondo, lawn tennis, triathlon, windsurfing, wushu, wrestling, weightlifting and archery.

“It’s not grassroots but it could be a venue to bring in new talent for our NSAs,” said Gomez, stressing that NSAs still in the developmental stage like pencak silat, muay Thai, sailing and windsurfing could benefit from the talent pool.

The PSC has pegged a budget of P15 million to P20 million for the Games.

Garcia and Philippine Olympic Committee chairman Monico Puentevella said they would try to persuade the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines to also stage a tournament.

Gomez said the Games would be an elite competition and would be open to all.