Manila hosts BP for first time

The Batang Pinoy (BP) Games, which was the birthplace of the careers of world gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo and Olympic weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, will be held this year in Metro Manila for the first time.

A spruced-up Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (RMSC) in Manila, which was upgraded for the recent Southeast Asian Games, will host the multisport event, a talent-discovery platform of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for athletes 15 years old and younger.

This will be the only time that the BP Games, which features at least 23 sports, most of them Olympic disciplines, will be played in Manila since it was launched in 1998 in Bacolod City.“There are a lot of events lined up in our calendar and we are excited to host them here inside this historic coliseum,’’ said PSC Chair William Ramirez.The 93-year-old complex accommodated five of the 56 sports in the recent SEA Games.